


Star Wars The Old Republic: Darth Imperius

by SithInquisitor



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-12-22 16:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 52,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11970777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SithInquisitor/pseuds/SithInquisitor
Summary: A fan fiction novel based on the player characters I created in the MMORPG Star Wars The Old Republic. This novel follows the actions of Darth Imperius (light side Sith Inquisitor Male) after the events of the first 3 chapters (and Makeb) of the Sith Inquisitor story in SWTOR.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is inspired by the events in swtor but eventually takes its own spin and is not in line with game expansions like Knights of the Fallen Empire and beyond. 
> 
> Admittedly, I worked on and off on this for several years. I apologize in advance if and when the writing quality/story appears inconsistent. I just hope you enjoy the characters and the classic Star Wars action.
> 
> Check out the novel trailer on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ds10YPvhhg

Part 1

 

1 standard month after the events of SWTOR: Rise of the Hutt Cartel 

3,640 B.B.Y.

Chapter 1

Garick, lord of the Sith, strode through the halls, bridges, and balconies of the citadel on Dromund Kaas. He had received a summons from the Dark Council, and he was making his way to the upper level of the Sith Sanctum to attend the meeting. His impressive height and lean figure made him stand out amongst the pale and sometimes even deformed faces of the collected Sith and their minions. Walking in his blue and white robe, he thought about the current galactic turn of events.  
A few years ago, the galaxy had been bound by the Treaty of Coruscant, a proposal of peace that left the galaxy in a stalemate of proxy wars. Now, however, the treaty was a thing of the past. Multiple individuals, from both factions-Republic and Empire-had virtually restarted the war. He was among this new generation of heroes. At first, the political figures had tried to suppress the thundering tide of another war by denying much of the conflict in official terms. But the reality resonated too much within this new generation, and since then, the war had finally, officially, reignited. His own rise to power had taken place during the final stages of the stalemate.  
After surpassing his former mentor, Lord Zash, and adopting the surname Kallig after his Sith ancestor, Garick had been hounded by the Dark Lord, Darth Thanaton. He and Thanaton struggled against each other’s power bases for months. Lord Garick had gained more support by impressing Imperial high command with his military heroism: such as winning campaigns on planets like Balmorra and Taris. He even helped the Dark Council member, Darth Decimus, with conquering Garick’s original home world, Corellia, and the first to receive the medal of Imperial glory, ensuring that he was known amongst the Dark Lords and the Imperial military. And he was able to augment his own affinity to the force by learning and then exploiting the daring ritual known as Force-Walking.  
In the Force-Walking ritual, a sith lord would seek out an apparition of an ancient force user, then either with or against the will of the ghost, the sith would try to bind the ghost’s essence. He was the only sith lord in the current empire that learned it and knew how perform it. If the living sith’s will wasn’t strong enough, then he/she would become severally ill and eventually die.  
Lord Garick had convinced most of the ghosts he had bound to come willingly by sealing a pact with them, using a small offering of blood. Lord Garick had conquered all these challenges, and succeeded in dismantling Thanaton’s power base and winning the Kaggath, which was an ancient duel between the power bases of each Sith Lord, resulting in Thanaton’s demise.  
Garick was now permitted to inherit Thanaton’s resources…and take his rightful place as successor to Darth Thanaton on the Dark Council, despite his youthfulness in comparison with others on the council. Dark Council members were either old by human standards or aged prematurely by the dark side, yet Garick was only 29 human years old when he joined them. He retained his handsome features; sharp blue eyes ideally matched with dark blond hair.  
His title was now Darth Imperius. His original name, Garick, was only used by his close allies. His command was the pyramid of Ancient Knowledge; he was chosen to preserve and study the lore of the Sith order and the Force. Garick enjoyed his role; it allowed him him to study the Force and its history whilst still waging war with Jedi.  
Since then he continued to perform field missions for the Empire and assisted in more complex operations that were brought up and authorized by the rest of the Council, things ranging from diplomacy to full-scale invasions, from hit-and-run attacks to self-assigned solo missions. As a Sith Lord, he was also, of course, responsible for plots that he himself set in motion. No true master properly ascended without having some hand in the events that he or she took part in himself or herself. He could do as he saw fit to protect his allies and nurture his power base. No one had either the power nor authority to influence his will, save perhaps the Emperor himself. And, unfortunately for the Empire, the Republic had now claimed responsibility for dethroning the Emperor. Weather the rumors were true or not, the Emperor was silent.  
Whatever new task the council was about to bestow upon him, Lord Garick couldn’t shake the feeling that this mission in particular would somehow be tied personally to his own life. He couldn’t explain it, but this time he welcomed the feeling, welcomed the excitement. Whatever the outcome, he promised himself he would be prepared for whatever was to come.  
The dark honor guards stationed at the durasteel doors of the Dark Council Chamber let him pass without interruption. A pair of them stepped up and opened the enormous doors for him. He stepped inside and saw the remaining 11 members of the council seated on their large chairs. Some had to use holocommunicators built in to the seat to transmit a signal from fronts across the galaxy. Each chair had sith hieroglyphics inscribed at the base. He bowed respectfully and took his seat.  
“You summoned me, my fellows,” Lord Garick said as he rose.  
“We may drop the formalities, this matter is urgent,” replied Darth Marr.  
Technicality, the members of the Dark Council were equal in rank, but the skills and power bases of some had more influence than others. Darth Marr was a good example: he was no higher in rank than any of the other members, but he was somewhat able to assert a type of authority, given that he was one of one of the more influential voices on the Dark Council. His mask and armor covered every inch of his head and body, and the chin would move slightly when his booming voice would ring out.  
“As you all now, we stand at the threshold of a new era for the Empire,” Marr began. “Between our Emperor’s disappearance, Darth Malgus’s revolution, and most recently, the reemergence of the Dread Masters, the Empire is in a flux.”  
“Perhaps once, but things are turning around now,” spoke the ancient Darth Rictus.  
“We must acknowledge Darth Imperius’s success in securing Makeb for our Empire. The isotope-5 deposits are going a long way to improving our war machine.”  
“ Yes, but the position is tenuous. We must seize the upper hand again before opportunity forsakes us,” Marr countered.  
“What are you trying to say?” Garick asked.  
“The Empire must reignite our offensive campaign while we have the chance!” Marr declared.  
“Yet the Republic seeks to stab its undeserving fingers at us once more,” Darth Acharon said.  
“Indeed,” began Darth Acina, the human female who had replaced the Falleen, Darth Karrid after her death over Duro. “Imperial Intelligence has begun uncovering mysterious leads to a plan being manufactured by a Jedi Master named Lamack. They’ve seen and heard much from Republic Senate committee hearings, to secret transmissions,” she explained. “Even our top spies, however, find it impossible to infiltrate the enemy enough to learn about this Jedi’s plans.”  
Garick knew that Imperial intelligence wasn’t what it used to be. Officially, it didn’t exist anymore. Unofficially, debunked watchers and ciphers banded together with the spy networks of powerful Sith Lords. He knew this was what Acina meant when she said ‘Intelligence.’  
“In coincidence with these discoveries, there was a major attack on one of our most productive metal and durasteel processing plants. We believe Lamack was involved,” said Decimus.  
“Due to Master Lamack’s reputation as a strategist and warrior, we dispatched The Emperor’s Wrath on a mission to uncover more about his scheme…and, if possible, eliminate him,” explained Darth Ravage.  
Lord Garick knew it must have been a serious threat if the Council had appointed the Wrath to the mission.  
Nallus Drakko was his old friend from several operations they had undertaken to further the Empire’s reach, and their power bases were intertwined. As apprentices, they often sparred, and they each had helped the other ascend to their current rank.  
“Unfortunately, he was captured by Republic Special Forces during his spy mission. Because of Imperius’s experience of working well with the Wrath, I nominate him to be the one to liberate Darth Nallus from enemy custody,” declared Darth Marr. The other dark lords murmured assent. “Between the two of you, you should be able to ascertain the nature of the new Jedi plans. Go now. Rendezvous with the Imperial Dreadnaught Renegade. Its crew will assist you in liberating Nallus.”  
Garick bowed once more and then turned to leave the chamber. As he did, Marr called and said,  
“See that the Emperor’s will be done.”

 

Nallus knelt meditating in his holding cell, surrounded by a glowing, orange ray-shield. He planned to break out of here once he had recovered his strength. The ship he was on sat adrift in space traveling to Coruscant, the Republic capital. He was on a Howler-class Republic prison transport. Due to his high profile, he was given a “special cell”-which meant higher security. At least it’s clean, he thought. Suddenly, his meditation was interrupted by a large tremor in the force, a familiar presence of a person. This tremor was soon followed by a rumble felt all across the ship…and then alarms. A small smile leaned across his face.

 

 

Chapter 2

Misate, Jedi peacekeeper, was standing on the bridge of the prison transport Yalian. She was tasked by the Jedi Council to escort a prisoner of great importance back to Coruscant. She had received the rank of Jedi Knight only 3 months ago, and had since only seen standard combat against the Sith. She never believed she would be delivering “the” Emperor’s Wrath to Republic justice.  
Suddenly, a loud bang ran throughout the ship, and acted simultaneously with a shock wave that knocked her and the crew off their feet. Voices yelled, alarms began to sound, and Misate felt the Force shift massively.  
“Security to all checkpoints! Shields up! Load turbo lasers!” yelled Selkath Officer Jynox. Jynox was a compatriot of Misate; they had met in the outer rim defending smaller systems from Imperial invasion, and now they were both assigned to this new project proposed by Master Lamack. A Republic security chief and a Jedi Consular made a good team.  
The people of his species were called the Selkath, fish-like humanoids that were native to the planet Manaan, a world of endless oceans and no known land mass. The above-water settlement known as mercantile plaza severed as a spaceport, trading and business post, and the Selkath place of government after the destruction of Ahto City.  
She herself was a Miraluka, a species of technically blind but very force sensitive species. Her affinity with the force allowed her to see with far more perception than humans. The Jedi Order valued her kind quite well; now more than ever.  
Misate rushed to the airlock located on the far side of the command deck; she knew the imperials would try to board from there first. There was another vibration through the deck as the Imperial cruiser continued its barrage on their hull. A squad of soldiers had already taken up position in the corridor, waiting to repel the enemy. They didn’t require much patience; seconds later the blast door exploded and a platoon of imperial soldiers burst through. Misate ignited the green blade of her lightsaber, and charged to meet the skirmish head-on. 

 

Garick watched as the soldiers cut through the republic vessel’s airlock blast door with their plasma torches. Two full waves of marines stood in front of him, fully loaded and equipped for the fight ahead. The plan was simple: The Renegade would use surprise and cannon fire to catch the enemy transport off guard. Then ten boarding teams would swipe through the ship, eliminating all resistance and giving Lord Garick plenty of time to spring Darth Nallus from the maximum-security cellblock on the lower levels.  
The protective door crumpled open into multiple fiery pieces. His troops rushed forward. Blaster bolts from the inevitably- rallied republic security crew hit the first few.  
The Imperial squad rushed forth and stock struck as many enemies as they could see with their rifles. Lord Garick solely concentrated on deflecting stray shots with the silver blade of his lightsaber.  
Lord Garick kept a collection of crystals used to power the blade of a lightsaber so he had the option to change his blade’s color at will. Of course, this meant he had to sit down, disassemble at least half of the hilt, replace the focusing crystal, and then reassemble the weapon. Garick possessed a crystal of almost each color, but in his time as a Sith lord, he had only used the red, purple, and silver crystals. The red one was common to all Sith, and several Sith inquisitors adorned the purple, but he used the silver crystal in times when he wanted to fully express his individuality. In recent weeks, he adorned the silver blade, and so his saber glowed that way on this mission.  
The enemy soldiers were mopped up rather quickly, but it was the Jedi knight wearing simple brown and green robes and wielding a lightsaber at the other end of the corridor that drew Lord Garick’s attention. Garick nodded at the Imperial sergeant, who directed his surviving men to continue down the hall, knowing they would just get in the way.  
The Jedi put herself into a fighting crouch, while Garick simply stood and pointed his blade at her. Then he charged the Jedi, cutting at her midsection. She responded with the lightsaber form of Soresu, using a purely defensive strategy. Their blades clashed at least a dozen times, during which the young Jedi took several evasive steps back. Finally, she broke the exchange by back flipping towards the elevator down another hallway. The Jedi broke into a run with her back to the Sith Sorcerer, giving him the opportunity to use the Force and hurl her against the wall. She was able to scramble to her feet quite quickly however, and the Jedi maintained her defensive posture. It was then that Garick noticed that she had been moving to protect a Selkath and a two-man republic escort currently in a firefight with an Imperial squad, obviously emanating from an adjacent corridor- and heading to the elevator door.  
Lord Garick reacted by running with the blinding speed of the Force and bearing down on the Selkath officer. The alien’s escort open fire, but Garick easily cut them down in seconds. But before he could kill the enemy officer, the unnamed Jedi saved him by using the Force to open the elevator door and propel him inside. When Garick turned to face her, she used a similar shove of the force to send him staggering back several feet. Then she herself jumped into the elevator. Realizing that they were about to escape him, he smashed open the door to the lift tube just as the lift itself began to descend. He then shot lightning on the lift car, frying its circuitry. The elevator stopped for a brief moment, and then started plummeting down the lift tube, hopelessly out of control. Satisfied that the passengers would not survive, he turned and ran to the nearest functional elevator, determined to liberate Darth Nallus as soon as possible.

 

Misate felt numb all over as she opened her eyes. She was still in the elevator car, which had crashed to the bottom of the turbo lift tube, 10 decks bellow the bridge. She was lying on her back, feet arced a ways up the wall. Although her body was clumped in foggy pain, she vividly recalled her confrontation with the Sith Lord leading the attack on the Yalian. He and his boarding team had completely overwhelmed their defenses in a matter of minutes, and it was only because of her daring move that she and Jynox were still alive. With great effort, she sat up, seeing the Selkath to her left. He was barely standing up, using the wall to lean on. He said nothing; he merely motioned his left arm, and she saw that his right hand was clutching his left elbow. Drops of amphibious blue blood eased its way through his long fingers.  
“Status report available, friend?” she asked.  
“Not a good nor detailed one,” he answered wearily. “I can’t get in contact with any of the other security team leaders, but I did register power blackouts across the ship. In short, I think we’ve lost.”  
“How long have we been down here?”  
“Best guess: 15 minutes”  
“Well, we need to get out of here,” Misate declared. She picked her lightsaber up off the floor and used it to cut a large hole through the elevator door. As she and Jynox climbed out, the security chief expressed his concern about the situation.  
“And just how are we supposed to make it out of here and still accomplish the mission?” he asked.  
“Some sacrifices must be made,” sighed Misate. “And in this case getting any survivors to safety is more important than containing the Sith, and at this point it might as well be easier.”  
“Well, let’s go see if anyone on this scrap pile’s still breathing,” agreed Jynox.  
As they started down the hall, Misate knew that the likelihood of them doing so was low, but only death would be able stop them from trying.

 

Despite how quickly the command deck had fallen, there was still heavy fighting in the lower levels of the Republic vessel. But Lord Garick knew that without leaders to properly rally their enemies, they were finished. Any enemies that tried to swarm him he had craved a swath through with lightsaber attacks. Other times he simply smashed hostiles into walls, crates, or even themselves with a mere flick of his wrist. He was now in cellblock S2, were corpses of soldiers from both sides lay strewn about the floor. Several imperials remained standing, some resting, others patching up wounded comrades. Those who could raise their arms to salute did so as he passed. Rounding the next corridor, he encountered 3 imperial soldiers fighting 5 republic guards. The dark lord ignited his saber to intervene, but the enemy squad took one look at him, broke ranks and fled. His allies cheered in gratitude. Finally, he made it to a fairly large room with an assault team of marines inside. He walked up to the sergeant who was with him during the initial boarding upstairs.  
“My lord. So glad you made it,” greeted the sergeant. “The ship is disabled, but the runts left down here are fighting like a pack of angry kath hounds!”  
“It’s strange,” wondered Lord Garick aloud, “that I’ve only encountered one Jedi during this whole skirmish, and she seemed pretty green to me.”  
“That’s because our friend has those guarding him.” The sergeant pointed a frightened finger at the chamber beyond the next door. Peeking in, Garick saw 3 Republic commandos and 2 RUJ-9 Republic anti-infantry droids. Behind them, he noticed the Darth Nallus meditating in an orange force cage.  
“As if those droids weren’t bad enough,” explained the sergeant, “those commandos are Vanguard class, the most heavily armored troopers in the Republic Army.” 1 of the 2 droids stood on either side of the commando unit. The commando in the center, obviously the C.O., had his helmet off, his carbine strapped to his backpack, and hands behind his back. The other two’s rifles were drawn and helmets on.  
Despite the fact that they noticed him watching them, they did not attack, nor seemed to react in any way.  
“See, that’s been the problem,” groaned the sergeant, noticing Garick’s puzzlement. “They constantly keep to a defensive line. It’s a stalemate: We can’t get through them but they never break ranks to engage or pursue anyone beyond that room. But now that you’re here, we could probably pull of a full scale frontal-”  
“No.”  
“W-what?”  
One glare from Lord Garick’s dark blue eyes silenced the bewildered soldier.  
“You and your men will only get yourselves destroyed. I can defeat them easily,” Lord Garick declared.  
“Yourself?! But…I…Sir, you…” the sergeant began to twitch, “ah…their armor!” he yelled, finally managing an argument. “Your lightsaber can’t penetrate their armor, at least let us-”  
“There are more ways the dark side can kill besides a lightsaber,” said Garick calmly. “You will provide assistance if I deem it necessary.”  
“As- (ahem)-as you wish, my lord,” said the sergeant, leaving behind his panic attack. The squad watched as Lord Garick walked into the secure room. The enemy officer merely grunted at his presence. The dark-haired figure of Nallus stood up to watch the encounter, yellow Sith eyes added to by the prominent red Sith-style tattoo on the right side of his face.  
Nallus wore only an undershirt and basic military pants. The enemy had taken his combat tunic.  
“Bad move, Sith,” the unknown officer said bluntly and raised his weapon to fire. But before he had a chance to, a grenade flew off his belt, jolted by the force, and into the hardware of the AI droid on the left. Soon, the droid exploded into charred debris.  
“What the- Oh you’re just asking for it. Attack!”  
Garick was fast enough to dodge and deflect the blaster bolts from the other commando’s guns, but had to leap to avoid the heavy shots fired from the remaining droid. He hacked away at the soldiers a few times but found that the sergeant’s claims about their plating being impervious to lightsabers true.  
After leaping and landing 2 more times, Lord Garick used the Force to posses the mind of one of the soldiers. Under Garick’s mind trick, the rogue commando proceeded to fire on his comrade, hitting several soft spots in the armor. The other commando screamed and fell. When the C.O. saw this he fired a solid shot through the possessed trooper’s forehead, giving Garick an opportunity to throw him aside with Force telekinesis. The commando officer hit the wall and collapsed. Garick turned to face the last Anti-infantry droid, only to see it sliced into shambles by a pair of crimson lightsabers.  
Darth Nallus stood triumphantly over the droid for a moment, and then deactivated his sabers. Garick noticed the shorted-out force field of what once had been Nallus’s cell. The day was theirs. Nallus then motioned a finger, pointing behind his friend. Garick turned to see the officer standing up again. The officer glanced about with horror. Then his expression turned to anger and he fired another heavy round at Garick, who deflected the bolts with ease. The lone commando simply stood there and looked at the ground as he said,  
“I won’t surrender,”  
“So be it,” declared Garick. Force lightning then shot forth from the Sith Lord’s fingertips, engulfing his stubborn foe. The commando officer shouted, twitched and sizzled as Garick’s attack melted his armor. Eventually, the soldier collapsed.  
“I was wondering when someone would finally notice I was gone,” said Nallus.  
“Did 48 hours of prison really rob you of all your manners?” answered Garick playfully.  
Garick turned back to the sergeant, who’s, even though Garick could not see under his helmet, mouth was agape.  
“Let’s get to the bridge,” said Darth Nallus. The Jedi put all the data recordings from my reconnaissance in the main computer.”  
Garick simply nodded and ordered the sergeant to direct his men to strip the vessel for supplies before they destroyed it. After that, the two Sith marched to the turbo lift that would take them back to the bridge.

 

 

 

Chapter 3

 

Misate sat in a cramped escape pod with Jynox and 5 other troopers, one of them wounded. Only 3 of the 25 pods carried by the Yalian had escaped the cruiser’s destruction, and 1 of which exploded due to engine malfunction.  
The remaining 2 pods floated adrift in the vacuum of space. They all had agreed to not activate the distress beacon until the Empire left. The imps had been gone for nearly 2 hours, and they still didn’t pick up on any more ships.  
Though it was unlikely they would ever be found, they still clung to hope. The same hope the Republic would need if it ever had a chance of casting down the Sith Empire.  
The soldiers with her said that they had escaped the same Sith Lord she had fought while resisting the enemy on the lower levels of the now-charred spacecraft.  
Because they had failed in their mission, the stolen data on Master Lamack’s project was in enemy hands. That meant more blood would have to be shed before this whole thing ended. The last thing the Jedi Order needed now was more fatalities. Misate also knew that all this effort would be for naught unless they were found.  
Suddenly every head in the escape pod jerked up to look over at the now-beeping com terminal…

 

Master Atalis knew something was wrong even before he looked out his ship’s view port and saw the charred, floating remains of a Republic transport. The Yalian had sent out a distress call, saying nothing more than that they were being overrun by Imperial forces. Atalis had been in the area and had been ordered to investigate. He had hoped there would be survivors. The Wookie Chaanar sitting next to him muttered a disdained growl at the grim site.  
Including Chaanar, Atalis traveled with 4 others on his adventures: The faithful astromech droid T7-64, his padawan the Jedi Sentinel Fauna Reese, and Captain Zarigso, his liaison to the Republic Army. They all traveled aboard his Defender-Class Jedi Starship.  
Atalis suddenly noticed a pair of ailing escape pods adrift a ways from the wreckage. He began to hail the first pod.  
“Can anyone hear me? This is Jedi Master Atalis. Is everyone alright?” The Jedi heard nothing but static and scrambled sentences. “Please reply,” he said. A female voice came through on the other end. “This is Jedi Consular Misate repre--------ster Lamack. Please allow------ board your vessel. I have several survivors with me, one injure (static),”  
“I’ll open my ship’s airlock upon attachment,” Atalis responded. “We will collect all the survivors.”

 

The ship had become cramped with his crew, the 10 republic survivors, the Selkath, and the younger Jedi knight. Atalis knew that Zarigso, being an expert combat medic, had already patched up any wounds they had. Atalis decided to have a talk about a new project being led by a Jedi Master called Lamack with Misate and his own companions. She had just finished explaining to them what little she new about it.  
“We’ll have to go to Lamack ourselves to get more information, but now that the Dark Council knows about it, his forces will need more protection than ever,” she explained.  
“T7 // = believe Jedi should assist,” beeped T7.  
“A military op of this scale deserves our attention,” agreed Zarigso.  
“There’s something suspicious about this,” said Fauna, “But I feel the only way we’ll know anything is by helping.” Chaanar simply roared in agreement.  
“I am very grateful to have crossed the paths of a team of eager volunteers like yourselves,” Misate said cheerfully.  
For reasons he couldn’t explain, Atalis felt misgiving eat at his gut. What was the project Misate spoke off? What did it mean? She obviously didn’t know. Atalis supposed there was only one man who could answer those questions.  
“We should embark for Master Lamack’s HQ,” declared Atalis.  
“It’s on Tibrin,” said Misate. “I was supposed to go there after I delivered Darth Nallus to Coruscant.”  
“Then let’s move out,” ordered Atalis.

 

Lord Garick and Darth Nallus had just finished their long-range conference with the Dark Council via the holoprojecter on Lord Garick’s own Starship, the Fury-class Imperial interceptor. The ship was a favorite among the dark lords and was usually given only to the most promising apprentices. Garick had acquired his as a reward from his former master Lord Zash.  
It was crewed by himself and the allies he had made throughout his various adventures: Khem Val, a muscular alien of a rare species and former servant of a long-dead Sith Lord he had met and enlisted the service of in the tombs of Korriban, Andronikos Revel, a space pirate that had helped Garick pursue an artifact on the dunes of Tatooine, Talos Drelik, a member of the Imperial Reclamation Service (an organization in the Empire’s military created for archeological retrieval and study of Sith and alien artifacts) whom Garick got along with well, seeing as how they both enjoyed studying the history and lore of the Force. The crew also included his loyal Kaleesh apprentice Xalek and eventual recipient of Garick’s knowledge.  
Garick also traveled with an HK-51 assassin droid, an extremely rare but efficient model, based of the design of HK-47, the personal creation of Darth Revan.  
And last but definitely not least was the Imperial Intelligence Cipher agent known as Jenaya. They had first met when he was still an apprentice, collaborating for several operations. Over time they became close. She soon became his liaison and asset within Imperial Intelligence. With the collapse and rough reform of Imperial Intelligence, however, her status had changed to being personally assigned to him, which actually suited him just fine.  
Prior to his rise to the position of lord, their association became something deeper, and they became lovers. Garick found her intoxicating. She had golden blond hair that went past her shoulders, shining emerald eyes, and radiant white skin. She was only a couple inches shorter than Garick himself.  
Sith who knew about their love either saw it as a weakness, or recognized it as a boon, but most simply didn’t care.  
Aside from being wonderful about itself, their romance also had practical benefits. The second line of The Sith Code stated that strength came through emotions like passion. If nothing else, that’s something their relationship provided. It was another thing aside from the rituals and intense training that gave him great power. Power he would use to shatter the Jedi Order and there apparent new toy.  
“We know it’s something technological,” Nallus thought aloud as he paced about the central hold. “The evidence from my reconnaissance shows the only resources Lamack has been using is metal, droids, computers, tech, even power-generating natural substances.”  
“Some of that equipment is pretty rare, even by the standards of my underworld contacts,” noted Adronikos.  
“This Jedi is building some kind of weapon to use against us,” concluded Garick.  
“It has to be something more than that,” continued Nallus. “From what I’ve heard, this project is top secret to the point that even the Jedi Council is totally unaware of its purpose.”  
“Are you saying there totally oblivious!?” inquired Jenaya.  
“Not at all,” confirmed Nallus. “Lamack’s project is public as far as the Jedi Order is concerned. But all he’s declared is a request for volunteers and is using senate lobbyists to raise funds for him. It appears this simple call to arms was enough to amass an extremely devoted workforce and string of followers.”  
“Strange indeed,” assessed Garick. “But now we now where this is happening and what it entails.”  
“I don’t understand why we simply do not just decimate and devour them while their weapon is incomplete,” snarled Khem Val.  
“It is as the Dark Council just explained,” replied Nallus. “We cannot strike until we know what this weapon is and weather or not it can be harnessed for our own use.”  
“Nevertheless, we can’t risk its completion,” countered Garick.  
“My lords, if I may interject,” Talos Drelik suggested, “the optimal strategy here would be to cut off our enemies supply lines.”  
“He has a point,” commended Garick. “If we seize Lamack’s resources for ourselves, we can dismantle his weapon before it’s even built and then use them to build it in the Empire’s name, if necessary. Do we know of any supply lines connected to his project?”  
“Well…it’s not a solid lead, but I happened to notice that his freighters are usually the kind favored by pirates and smugglers,” recalled Nallus. “I’d conclude that Nar Shadda is as good as any a place to begin a search.”  
Nar Shadda, a.k.a. ‘The Smuggler’s Moon’, was the criminal metropolis trekked by nearly every living thing that filled the galaxy, from mercenaries to refugees, to alien businessmen to wanted fugitives. Though officially ruled by the Hutts, Nar Shadda (like most planets in Hutt Space) was virtually lawless.  
“I’ll start seeing what I can dig up on any smuggler routes to Tibrin,” said Jenaya confidently. “A file should be ready in a day or two.”  
“In the meantime,” concluded Garick, “we should all get some rest and prepare for the coming conflict.”  
Garick heard the airlock of his ship link up with Darth Nallus’s own starship.  
“May the Force serve you well,” he said in farewell. Nallus departed, and Garick’s crew returned to their respective positions. Still in the conference room, Jenaya stood alone with Garick.  
“Sounds like quite the mystery,” she said, sounding intrigued.  
“Think you can get data on a group of faceless pirates on a moon full of them in just two days?” Garick said, issuing a friendly challenge.  
“Bet I can have it after the first,” she responded.  
“Your on.” 

 

 

Chapter 4

Garick lay asleep in his quarters, Jenaya also asleep by his side. He was slumbering comfortably until he felt as if he was hearing something. He opened his eyes and listened and discovered that he hadn’t been hearing anything, but he sensed a powerful presence in the Force. Sitting up on the side of his bed, he saw a faint blue glow in the corner. As his eyes adjusted and the glow began to materialize, he recognized it as the spirit of his long dead ancestor, Lord Kallig. Kallig had been instrumental in helping him rise to his rightful position, guarding him against his former master and leading him to where he had learned the force walking ritual. Kallig had also mention the last time they spoke that he probably couldn’t visit him again on this side of death. So what was he doing here?  
“Blood of my blood…listen,” the ghost said. Garick turned to look at Jenaya who remained asleep despite the voices. Apparently, he was the only one who could here or see Kallig.  
“I don’t…I do not have very long. I must inform you of what needs to be done.”  
Garick had many questions.  
“What are you talking about? I thought you said you couldn’t speak to me again?”  
“Your ascendancy to the top of the Sith restored our family’s power…and kept my spirit intact for a little while longer.” His ancestor’s apparition phased out a moment then reappeared.  
“I bring a warning; our lineage is in danger.”  
“Don’t let it get stuck in your throat! Speak.”  
“Back when your master was plotting to take your body, I could feel the shift against you in the Force. With Zash’s downfall, I felt it disappear. Now it has arisen again, but cloaked in light rather than darkness.”  
“What does that mean?” asked Garick.  
“Someone strong in the Force, a Jedi by the feel of it, threatens to tarnish our bloodline. I know not whom, where, or how, but the omen is unmistakable.”  
Naturally, Garick felt confused. “How can you know this?” he wondered aloud. “Seems awfully far fetched.”  
“The Force never lies,” replied Kallig sternly. “That Jedi is out there. And although it seems the easiest way, killing you might not be the action that threatens us.” Garick thought more on it more on it. These premonitions of danger were recent.  
“Are you suggesting it’s Lamack?” asked Garick.  
“Unlikely. But this nearing confrontation with Lamack will set you on a path. I can feel it. Beware this Jedi,” cautioned Kallig. “Remember, the future of our family lies with you.”  
Garick was still mystified by these cryptic warnings, but there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. Kallig’s ghostly form remained, however.  
“I take it you have more to offer?” guessed Garick.  
“Ha. I am read like a holobook aren’t I? Yes…there is something else. Before I died I succeeded in making my own holocron. It will guide you to strengthen yourself and help you hasten Lamack’s destruction.”  
The apparition flickered in and out again.  
“You had a holocron of your own this whole time? Why didn’t you tell me about it when Zash threatened me?” Garick wanted to know.  
“I didn’t know where it was until Imperial archeologists found a chamber belonging to Tulak Hord in the Citadel on Ziost. He must have dumped it there after he turned on me. Go to Ziost to claim the last of your inheritance.”  
“Well…I guess this goodbye,” said Garick.  
“In a manner of speaking,” assured Kallig. “My spirit may be preparing to move on but you can still communicate with me, for I am obviously the holocron’s gatekeeper.” Garick understood now. As long as he kept the holocron, he could communicate with the interactive hologram, the gatekeeper, so he and Kallig could still talk in a sense.  
“Farewell, Son of my Sons. May the Force…serve you well.”  
Then the blue glow was replaced by a violet flare as the ghost evaporated. Caught up in the moment, it took him a minute to realize Jenaya tossed and turned a bit and was awake.  
“What are you doing?” she asked seeing him staring at the wall.  
Before fully explaining, Garick simply said,  
“There’s been a slight change, we have make a detour to Ziost.” 

 

The next day…

 

Zoist was the home of both significant Sith history and a modern metropolis. The Empire and reclaimed this and many other world’s that had been a part of their old borders. This made the ancient Citadel constructed by Ajunta Pall a popular spot for Sith researchers and the Imperial Reclamation Service. As he was the head of the Ancient Knowledge Pyramid, the archeologists on site had been eager to let him investigate the ruins.  
Garick was now traveling through the tunnels beneath the massive castle. He was following directions given to him about the recently-unearthed chamber that had evidently served as a sort of storage bunker for the late Tulak Hord. Lord He continued through the opened wall into a circular chamber lit barely by glow rods. He sensed something force sensitive in the area, not a person but an object.  
Kallig’s holocron  
Garick could see nothing of interest. But he would not let his eyes become a limitation. He reached out with the Force a little while longer, letting the mysterious power guide him like a beacon. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself staring at what appeared to be an ancient, rectangular box. Apparently the archeologists had yet to pry it open. Walking over to the box, he extended his hand and slowly lifted the aged lid form its container with the Force.  
Inside was a collection of idols and trinkets that Tulak Hord must have regarded as throwaway treasures. He reached in and fumbled around until his hands closed around a small, four-sided pyramid. The holocron he sought. He resisted the urge to activate it immediately. He would want to study it in detail once he was back in the privacy of his quarters on the ship. He could only imagine what secrets Kallig had known in the prime of his day. Secrets that were Garick’s by right and by birth. If this Jedi Kallig warned of did exist, Garick thought, they had better be prepared to contend with a true Dark Lord of the Sith. 

 

 

Chapter 5

 

“So as you can see,” concluded Master Lamack “…my project grows nearer to completion every day. And least to say I am thankful for exposing and then dealing with the new involvement of the Dark Council.”  
Atalis and Misate were in the command center of Lamack’s project site established at one of the few coral island settlements on Tibrin. They sat in an office built into what would appear to be a large greenhouse. Lamack was an older cerean, a humanoid species that possessed a tall, conical head. They just listened to his explanation that he was building a technological marvel that would become a substantial boon to the Republic’s galactic defensive. But Atalis noticed he remained vague during this speech.  
“You are most welcome…but what exactly *is* it?” inquired the Jedi Knight.  
“I’m afraid that information must remain mine for the time being. But rest assured that you will have no regrets from assisting me,” answered the Jedi Master.  
Atalis was still skeptical, but saw no ground to oppose Lamack on, so he stayed silent.  
“What is to be done from here?” asked Misate.  
“I will soon have all the supplies I need to finish the project, but now that the Sith are on to us, we can’t take any chances. The sources for certain rare parts I require are based on Nar Shadda. If you are willing, I’d advise you travel there and ensure that my allies and my last shipment do not fall victim to the Imperials.”  
“You made a deal with some greedy thugs that throw in with hutts?” asked Atalis, disgusted.  
“My friends are far from being petty criminals. They want to see the Empire crumble as much as we do, and they have some degree of loyalty,” Lamack explained.  
“Your talking about Anti-Imperial terrorists aren’t you?” Atalis asked, suddenly guarded.  
“Yes,” admitted Lamack, “...they may be overzealous by Republic standards, but we need one another in these dark times. A moment. Allow me to contact them so they can meet you and recognize you when you arrive.” Lamack stepped over to holoterminal on one side of the room and typed in a frequency. The Jedi waited several minutes for someone to answer, but nothing happened…

 

Jenaya crept through the alleys and slums of the Duros sector of Nar Shadda in the dead of night. She had uncovered information about a smuggling operation from here to the same star system as Tibrin, one Republic forces conspicuously turned a blind eye to. The alien slums provided the perfect cover for this kind of activity. And Jenaya could bet Garick’s rare Marka Ragnos amulet that she knew why Lamack was able to buy the smugglers’ loyalty. Radicals who had pledged to bring down the Empire occupied this territory. She had heard that a bounty hunter competing in the Great Hunt had driven off the radicals’ previous leader; an alien called “The Flame.”  
Moving with near total silence, Jenaya snuck her way into a freelance docking section, most likely dedicated by the anti-empire terrorists to meet Lamack’s supplying demands. It consisted of a large cargo area connected to three separate landing platforms, all of it overseen by a single air-traffic control tower. She took cover behind two large crates. On the first platform, she saw a stolen Imperial cargo shuttle with two engineers standing by. The second was filled crates and boxes, most likely containing droids, spice, and bio analysis equipment. Several anarchists stood amassed on the third and final platform, loading and cleaning weapons and conversing amongst themselves. Jenaya slipped through the boxes of metals and foodstuffs. Along the way, she came across an inactive mouse droid, which gave her an idea. Attaching a detonator to the droid, she activated its patrol programing, sending towards the rag-tag platoon of rebels. With that, she made her way to the door at the base of the tower. She had to wait for exactly the right moment.  
Shouts could be heard across the dock as the radicals were engulfed in a fireball from the exploding mouse droid. The Cipher Agent wasted not a second breaching the tower door and racing up the steps. A pair of Nikto descended the steps to find the cause of the noise. Sniper rifle in hand, Jenaya blasted right through the first one. When the second began to flee the other way, he feel short and collapsed due to a knife thrown into the back of his cranium. With speedy strides, she mounted the rest of the stairs. As she entered the control room at the top, the alien technicians had just enough time to glance up in surprise before she unleashed a burst spray from her rifle, firing multiple shots while she moved her weapon from side to side. All five were dead in seconds.  
She got to work immediately on slicing the primary terminal. It was encrypted, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Thanks to her distraction outside, other rebels wouldn’t be able to pin her inside the base. Within two minutes, she was in and had access to all the files, including the smuggling routes and manifests.  
As she established an uplink to the starship, Jenaya registered the sound of a ship departing outside. Out the window, she saw the stolen Imperial ship making a break for the skies. She could not allow any witnesses to report back to Master Lamack.  
She adjusted her sniper rifle to its highest intensity so that it wouldn’t just fire a blaster bolt, but a concentrated beam, good for a single shot before recharge. She hurriedly smashed an opening through the tower’s viewport and took aim. Focusing on a critical exhaust port near the left wing, she fired. The beam tore through metal, rupturing the shuttle’s stabilizer. It careened out of control and fell miles down into the depths of Nar Shadda. There was a satisfying thud from below as the shuttle’s flight ended. Satisfied, Jenaya completed the data download and headed back to the ship…

 

“This Intel should be enough to hit the pirate and smuggler bases that have been assisting the Republic,” said Minder Fifteen, formerly of Imperial Intelligence. “Your assistance is now and will always appreciated, my lord.”  
Garick couldn’t help but notice and silently admire that Minder Fifteen was a Devaronian. He chose to take it as a good sign that the Empire was finally accepting more diverse species into its ranks; it needed to if it was to survive.  
Minder Fifteen’s image disappeared and was quickly replaced by Moff Pyron’s, Lord Garick’s old ally.  
“Is the strike force prepared for our attack on Tibrin?” inquired the Sith.  
“Almost, Lord Imperius. The Doombringer is ready but I still need to outfit some support frigates. I will contact you when we are prepared, sir.” Moff Pyron’s image faded away and Garick deactivated the holoterminal.  
“Well, everything seems to be in place,” observed Jenaya, “and surprisingly quick…”  
“That is exactly how we need it these days,” Garick reassured her. “I still need time to study Kallig’s holocron, though. When I face Lamack, I must have the full backing of my heritage.”  
“I see,” understood Jenaya. “I guess I’ll leave you to it.”  
She kissed him and left his quarters. Lord Garick sat down on a mat with his ancestor’s holocron placed on the stand in front of him. He took a deep breath and activated the holocron. Lord Garick knew with certainty that when he finally faced Lamack, he would be ready for anything. 

 

 

 

Chapter 6

Nallus stood on the bridge of The Imperial cruiser Doombringer, under the command of Moff Pyron. He oversaw the fleet preparations that were being made to assault Tibrin. They were currently above the swamp world of Mimban. He had just received word that Lamack’s allies on Nar Shadda had been dealt with. It would not be long know until Darth Imperius gave the order to attack. Nallus was not an Inquisitor like his old friend. He was a marauder. He hungered in anticipation for the confrontation, though he was not a brute.  
In his spare time he had already outlined the battle plan: The fleet would decimate all defenses and holdouts but not damage the project itself. Then he and Garick would infiltrate the command structure with a strike team composed of their companions and shut down the power. When the Jedi Master finally showed himself, they would destroy him easily: a simple but brutally efficient plan.  
“Lord Nallus!” yelled Moff Pyron. “A Jedi vessel has been detected scouring the our perimeter!”  
“Engage pursuit. Now!” responded the Sith lord.  
The heavy canons of the Doombringer opened fire on the small Jedi transport just off their bow. Their enemy managed to evade every attack.  
“If they are allowed to jump to hyperspace, their fate will be the very last thing you have to worry yourself with, Moff!” snapped Nallus. Moff Pyron was silent but gulped before continuing distributing orders.  
Suddenly, the enemy starfighter was hit on its port side.  
“Did you get it?”  
“Yes, sir, but its spiraling down to the planet below. Its out of range now…”  
Nallus cursed. “Prepare a shuttle to take me down to the surface. There will be no survivors.”

 

Misate barely managed to land her starfighter safely in the swamps of Mimban, but it had taken much damage. Her left wing was gone, shot off by the Imperial ships. She had hoped to discover more about the enemy build-up, praying that it wasn’t to attack Lamack’s currently vulnerable base. It appears, however, her fears had been realized. And now she couldn’t get back to the Republic to warn them.  
She stepped outside her doomed ship and looked for a place to use as shelter. Her search was interrupted when she heard the sound of an Imperial shuttle speeding down to the swampy surface, most likely searching for her. She took several quick looks at the jungle before her. She decided on what would be the best path, and set out sprinting in that direction…

Nallus disembarked from the small shuttle and immediately began sensing the area for any hit of the Force. Moments later, he found it. It was faint, but it was there. The Jedi was attempting to conceal herself, but her brief moment of exposure was enough for him to latch onto. Without saying a word to his pilot about how long he would be, he began moving through the swamps, stalking the Jedi like a rancor stalks its prey. It would be tedious, but he knew it was only a matter of time until she lay dead before him. 

 

Lord Garick was deep in meditation. Kallig’s holocron was providing him with intriguing insights of the dark side. Through it, Garick was learning how to transform his passion into powerful yet subtle new abilities. He had already perfected his ability to cleanse the body of poisons. He was now learning techniques that would allow him to channel is powers with more potency. He was also learning the spell with which he could cloak himself using Sith Sorcery. He could already mask his Force signature, but with this technique, he would be both undetectable by Force-users as well as invisible to the naked eye and scanners.  
The new knowledge was also useful in advancing his efforts to merge light side energy with that of the dark. Darth Revan had known the power of such unification, of such gray energy. Garick had devoted his training in the Force to mastering both the light and dark sides of the Force. Using the Jedi’s own energy along with that of the Sith, he would one day be able to wield the Force without limit. His chains would truly be broken. Divide and Conquer, Garick mused. And with this holocron from his ancestor, his evolution was nearing completion.  
There were fundamental reasons why the Sith were more powerful than the Jedi. For one, Sith were not afraid to feel, to let their emotions fuel them, to connect. In addition, the Sith made use of the Force in ways the Jedi would never allow themselves. Sith knew how to bend the Force to their will. Some Sith took these principles to ridiculous extremes, butchering populations and enslaving species, but Garick knew where the balance lied. The evidence was in the state of the government the Jedi sought to protect. The Republic was a sinking vessel, its senators too busy squabbling to make any lasting difference. The time was coming for a new regime to take its place. All the suffering the Sith Empire had endured in its thousand-year exile would finally be avenged. And with the Force on his side, he and his allies would be the ones to usher in the future…

 

Misate was perspiring dramatically, running at full speed through the swampy night. Even with the aid of the Force, her legs and limbs were tiring rapidly. The Sith that was apparently pursuing her made no attempt to mask his own presence, and it felt as if the black fog of the dark side was descending on the swampy jungle.  
Misate realized she needed a plan. Running would only delay the inevitable, as well as tire her out. And she needed a ship. The only one on the entire planet’s surface was the shuttle her adversary had arrived in. She stared back at the way she had come.  
It was risky. She would be more likely to run into the Sith sooner that way. But she needed that shuttle.  
She turned herself around. Devoting her remaining energy to her new goal, she continued running at full speed toward where she had felt the darkness first touch down…

 

Nallus knew he was getting close. The light side struggled pathetically through the forest like a lost uxibeast calf. He tasted the fear. He was closing in on it.  
He reached a thick line of foliage, but cut through the low trees with his twin sabers like they were butter. In the clearing beyond, he expected to find his prey, but instead found nothing but dirt and a shallow pond. He was confused. The impression of the light side was still here, and there were fresh tracks confirming someone of humanoid sentient nature was recently here.  
Nallus turned his head, back the way he had came.  
There you are.  
The Jedi had doubled back the other way, probably hoping to make him run in a circle.  
The trail was fresh. He started running and new that he would be upon them in moments.  
If the Emperor has marked you for death, he thought, you’ll never escape His Wrath. 

 

Misate paused, turned around sharply, and ignited her green lightsaber. She only had small amount of strength left, and she would need it to defend against the Sith that she now realized would inevitably catch her. She remained rooted in place despite the rain, awaiting an onslaught. For moments, nothing stirred. Then the Force warned her mere nanoseconds before a pair of crimson blades swerved with lethal purpose toward her. Her own blade barely managed to parry her assailant’s weapons, and even so the momentum knocked her back. She struck back with quick strikes but ultimately had to focus on parrying the overpowering strikes of her opponent. Only the instantaneous flashes of light generated by their flashing sabers allowed Misate to identify her enemy as Darth Nallus, the Sith Master she had been escorting aboard the Yalian.  
The Jedi struggled to switch to Niman rather than Soresu, trying her best to counter attack. Nallus was demonstrating his mastery of the aggression generated by Juyo. Misate ducked out of the way and her enemy’s blade sliced a tree behind her. When she had the moment, she lifted the tree’s remains with the Force, hurling them at Nallus. He slapped them out the way with his own sabers and resumed his attack. He thrust a fist forward and shoved her through the underbrush, the twigs and bark of which had her covered in superficial cuts when she emerged on the other side. She rolled across the ground to avoid one of the sweeping blades. She sprang to her feet and struck with finesse, slicing across Nallus’s left arm. But the Dark Lord appeared to be unfazed, merely contorting his face in anger as his right-handed sword lunged at her, snapping her own weapon from her grasp. Before Misate could dodge the next attack, Nallus thrust forward with a head-butt.  
Misate fell back onto the ground again, her conscience fading. Before that could happen, she somehow managed to get to her feet once more, and spun in retreat, retrieving her lightsaber from where it had fallen. She ran toward the area where Nallus and left his ship. He was close behind but she was the faster, cutting down foliage to obscure her opponent’s path. She ran with the speed of the Force, stopping only when she sensed the dark presence behind her disappear. She turned and Darth Nallus was nowhere to be seen. It took her a moment to realize that the Sith was merely suppressing his presence in the Force. She quickly ducked her head, barely avoiding the sweeping arc of one of the familiar crimson blades, which sliced off a small lock of her hair.  
A heavy kick delivered to her stomach after she spun around sent her spiraling into one of the swampy ponds, drenching her robe and body. A squeezing pain erupted in her forehead that she recognized from her training as an assault on her mind by the dark side, attempting to plant seeds of fear into her mind. Although she knew a technique to counter it, it would require her to slip into a trance, and by extension, unconsciousness. She surrendered herself to the mental anesthetic, even as it flashed through her mind that she would awake a prisoner… 

 

 

Chapter 7

 

If death had every taken sentient form, it had been here. Corpses littered the platforms deep in Nar Shadda’s Duros sector. Some had but s ingle, lethal wound. Others had been ripped to shreds by some explosion. Atalis was fortunate that he had a strong stomach.  
He and his teammates scoured over the toppled crates and abandoned ships of Lamack’s smuggling operation. It was obvious that Lamack’s supply line had been found out, but whoever had murdered these beings had not been a Sith.  
He walked up the carpeted staircase leading into the air-traffic control tower’s control room. He bent down to examine the body of an Anomid technician, fumbling through the pockets of its utility belt and extracting a codebook. He figured he could use the codes to contact Master Lamack by a secure line.  
The swiftness of the attack deeply troubled Atalis. It meant that the Empire was already rallying to destroy all the work the Republic had put into Lamack’s project. The fact that Lamack had declined to discuss what the project was disturbed him further. If even the Jedi were forced into such high levels of discretion, it meant that their dark side counterparts truly had pushed the Order to the very brink. He wondered if the gates of the future would part, granting an image, or at least a warning of what was to come, but none came. What the construction was and its purpose were facts that Atalis could only contemplate with mounting unease…  
“Master Atalis,” Lamack spoke urgently from the holoprojector, “have you determined what happened?”  
“Sadly, yes.” Atalis responded. “The Empire found your friends already. There were no survivors.”  
“That confirms my fear,” Lamack said in a grasping way.  
“What is it?” Atalis said, sensing that something had gone horribly wrong.  
“I sent our young friend Misate on a reconnaissance mission into Imperial space. She was due to check in 2 hours ago.”  
The glimpse of the future Atalis had been searching for earlier sprang forth into his mind and he leaned on a nearby chair for support.  
“Atalis, are you-”  
“Master Lamack, ready your defenses!” Atalis screamed, giving voice to his premonition. “The Sith are about to strike!”

 

Darth Nallus was filled with a sense of triumph as he walked to the central war room on board the Doombringer. The Jedi he had caught snooping around the Imperial task force’s staging area had been captured and was being sent to a prison colony where she would be made to slowly break. The attack on Tibrin was mere hours away, and the Sith lord could barely contain his eagerness. The Jedi would soon learn that they did not have the upper hand in this war, that no members of their order were safe against the still-powerful Sith Empire.  
Darth Imperius had contacted him, telling him of how his Cipher agent had dispatched Lamack’s suppliers and that the enemy was now vulnerable. He and his apprentice Jeasa Willsaam stepped through the open door and entered to find the Dark Councilor, Moff Pyron, the Kaleesh Xalek, Jenaya, and a handful of other Imperial officers and strategists all standing around a large holoprojector, which showed a still image of the plant Tibrin and the Republic space units orbiting it.  
“Well, now that we’re all here…” Garick said by way of greeting, “Let us begin.” Imperius was dressed in a red and black robe. Nallus himself was attired in black caped combat tunic with massive shoulder pads.  
“The Republic only has a token force in place to defend the Jedi Research Facility,” Moff Pyron began. “Their small frigates will be helpless against the Silencer!”  
Nallus knew the Silencer was a super laser mounted on the Doombringer capable of decimating entire enemy armadas. Garick had endorsed the production of the weapon as a direct act of defiance against Darth Thanaton.  
“Once the Silencer has obliterated the corvettes,” Garick said, “… Nallus, Xalek, and myself will land on the island housing the research center and neutralize its defenses.”  
The view of the planet zoomed in to magnify an island in Tibrin’s eastern hemisphere.  
“And when the facility is vulnerable, our troop transports will land and seize control of the base and any potential assets within,” Imperius concluded. Now the holoprojection showed several shuttles racing toward the island.  
“My lords,” Moff Pyron said, addressing each Sith in the room, “… forgive me, but are you certain it will take all of you just to neutralize the base?” Nallus gave Imperius a knowing glance. Garick answered for the four of them-the lords and their apprentices.  
“Lamack is a Jedi Master and he’ll have a contingent of Jedi as escorts. We have sensed them.”  
“I hope everyone is clear on the plan,” Nallus said with a raised voice so all could hear. “This is operation shall be quick and will not waste any resources! Understood?” There was a simultaneous ‘Yes, my lord’ from everyone but the other Sith in the chamber.  
“Well, then,” Garick said, “Let our actions be swift and our results beyond reproach.” 

 

 

Chapter 8

The Republic support ships sat in tight formation above Tibrin. They were organized, determined, and ready for anything. All that was erased in a brilliant flare of light as the Silencer’s beam drilled into their hulls. Seconds later, nothing remained but twisted smoldering wreckage that had one been ships. Then the shuttles launched. They sped down towards the planet’s surface like grim birds of prey. The Lords Garick and Nallus were in the lead ship, their apprentice Xalek and Jaesa in the one behind. Garick could feel the ship vibrate as anti-air guns fired upon the approaching shuttles. The gunners’ aim obviously needed improvement as he sensed no shots found their mark. Soon the shuttles decreased speed as Tibrin’s surface neared.  
“We’re above the LZ, sirs,” the pilot reported. The bay light turned green and the doors opened. “Go!”  
Garick and Nallus jumped out of the shuttle’s bay and onto the beach 3 meters below. Behind them, he sensed Xalek and Jaesa do the same. Tibrin’s blue-green ocean stretched for miles, several small, floral islands dotting the landscape. The largest island in sight was the one they were currently standing on. The wind was blowing hard enough to make their robes billow. The most audible sound was the crashing of waves against the shoreline- until a klaxon began to sound at their landing. Garick could see what looked like a small city village situated on the island. However, he knew the various green houses, walls and buildings only served as the cover for Master Lamack’s Jedi research facility.  
All four of them force-sprinted up the beach and the sand gave way to grass and plants. The party darted for the gate in the wall facing the pier. A number or guardsmen apparently noticed them coming, for a multitude of blaster bolts shot forth from emplacements in the wall. The bolts were deflected with ease by the two Sith masters. Nallus was the first to reach the gate. Garick felt his ally concentrate the power of the dark side into a telekinetic blast that ripped the gate into chunks of metal. Lightsabers drawn, the Sith squad charged into the courtyard.  
The ordinary soldiers had wisely fallen back, knowing that they stood no chance against Force-sensitives. Garick noticed Xalek use his double-bladed crimson saber to cut down a nearby sensor post. They proceeded further into the compound, towards a fountain at the courtyard’s center. That’s when the first Jedi fell upon them. Garick could tell they were Jedi Guardians, strong, nimble warriors, but rudimentary in their understanding of the Force. There were three in total, all human. Nallus leapt toward one, another attacked Jaesa, and the third came at Garick. He let the Jedi get close. At the last minute Garick griped the man with the Force, yanking him of his feet and pulling the Jedi forward. The Sith master’s blade impaled the guardian right through. His enemy fell to the ground, dead. Scanning the area, he noticed Nallus had already decapitated his Jedi and was already on the way to assist Jaesa. Garick moved to where Xalek was deflecting blaster fire from more troopers pouring out of the area’s green houses.

With a Force-amplified dash, Garick closed the gap between himself and the incoming enemies. Once close enough, he gathered his energy and unleashed it in the form of a chain lightning attack. The bolts shot from one enemy to the next until all collapsed as twitching, steaming corpses.  
Around the next turn, Garick saw a pair of landing fields and a large construction work site. He couldn’t tell what it was but it appeared to be some kind of silo. The workers had no doubt fled when the attack started. Next to it was what he figured was the command center. It was the tallest building in the city at a mere 3 stories high.  
“Over there!” Garick said. “That’s our objective.”  
The team of Sith cleared out another green house to make their way down the next street towards the command building. Garick was certain of its purpose now, because two Jedi sentinels barred the entryway. The Sith party split into pairs: Nallus and Jaesa attacked one, while Garick and Xalek assaulted the other. These knights obviously had more experience than the first three. Both were Mirialan, one male, and one female.  
Garick’s purple blade executed Makashi attacks against his opponent who countered with her yellow and orange blades. Xalek came in left; Garick came in right. The Jedi held them off for two passes. On the third, she left herself overextended on the left, and a quick swipe from Xalek hewed off her left arm. Garick finished her off with a quick, downward diagonal slash. Nallus and Jeasa had also defeated their sentinel.  
Garick could sense other hostiles in the buildings, including Master Lamack, but the Jedi numbers had been thinned. The only real difficulty left was in taking down Lamack himself. Nallus nodded in Garick’s direction, and the four Sith proceeded to destroy the locks on the facility’s doors and head inside. 

 

Atalis’ heart was racing. His hands trembled as they held the controls that guided his ship speeding through hyperspace. He didn’t actually need to be at the pilot’s chair while in hyperspace, but he wanted to be ready as soon as they got to Tibrin. He knew the Empire would be attacking at this very moment. He feared it was already too late. The panel read ETA to Tibrin was in 2 minutes. Not soon enough, Atalis chided. Minutes later, the ship exited the hyperspace lane and came upon the green world of Tibrin. As the Jedi feared, three Imperial ships hung in orbit. One was a massive Harrower-class dreadnought; the two others were smaller Terminus-class destroyers. Atalis searched for any Republic ships that might remain, but he saw nothing. His heart sank. Apparently, they had been vaporized. As they got closer, he could see that the dreadnought mounted a massive laser weapon. Atalis had heard of a weapon called the Gauntlet that could vaporize ships, but it was destroyed by the Republic’s own Havoc squad. Evidently, the Empire had constructed a newer and better version.  
Atalis hit the throttle, accelerating toward Tibrin, hoping there were still some he could save… 

 

“Moff Pyron!” one of the bridge staff yelled. “Another ship just appeared on scanners.”  
“Class?” the aged Moff asked.  
“Uh…Defender…with an enemy transponder. That’s a Jedi vessel!”  
“Range?”  
“30 kilometers and closing,”  
“Dispatch the fighters,” Pyron ordered. “Don’t let them reach the surface!”

 

A warning light began flashing in concert with an irritating beeping on Atalis’ control board.  
“Incoming fighters!” Zarigso announced from the co-pilot’s seat. Atalis spotted at least twelve Mark IV supremacy-class interceptors darting towards the ship.  
“Fauna get to the gun turret!” Atalis ordered. “Keep them off us long enough for us to get in the atmosphere.” 

Fauna, obeying Atalis’ command, seated herself in the gun turret mounted in the roof of the ship. She took careful aim on the incoming interceptors, activated the auto-targeting computer, and fired. Her first volley struck one enemy and it exploded into vapor. This would be easier than she thought. Well, it was, until the next two fighters’ volleys found their mark. The ship rocked back and forth as the shields were hit. She chided herself for becoming distracted. She fired off three more volleys, rotating the turret while doing so. Two more enemy craft disintegrated.  
The remaining nine fighters all rounded for another pass. She swiveled the turret the full 360 degrees three times. This technique destroyed three more fighters. In her recklessness, however, another fighter scored a direct hit, weakening the shields further. Atalis made several evasive maneuvers, making it difficult for her to aim. The Force became her targeting computer. Calling upon it allowed her to erase two interceptors, and damage two more. The damaged ships broke off, leaving only two enemies.  
She was about to finish them, but as they neared the planet, a fresh squadron of eight more interceptors broke their patrol formation and sped toward them from Tibrin’s atmosphere. She sighed and turned the turret to face the new opponents. She had yet to fire, when Atalis launched a trio of missiles. Each one found a target, blowing away three ships. The explosions disoriented the remaining interceptors, giving them an opening through which they descended into Tibrin’s atmosphere. One last volley from an enemy ship nipped the Defender’s hull, reducing the shields to 50% strength. Fauna returned the favor with one last volley of her own.

 

 

Chapter 9

 

Nallus knew they were getting close. The team of Sith had cut down another patrol of Republic bodyguards; Lamack had to be running out of troops. They soon found themselves in front of a large durasteel door. Nallus took the lead, using both of his crimson lightsabers to carve into the metal. Within moments, the door fell away, revealing the command center on the other side. All four Sith sauntered into the room, lightsabers drawn and activated. The staff had all been evacuated save a couple of essential technicians. Master Lamack stared them down flanked by three armored Republic heavy troopers, all of whom wielded electro staffs.  
“So…you’re here at last,” Lamack sneered. “Ready to face the future? A future without Sith?”  
Nallus laughed. “Your delusional! The Sith are the future!”  
“Not after today!” the Jedi master retorted. “Your Empire has had its fill of butchering this galaxy. The Sith will become extinct!”  
“Planning something similar to what your ancestors did to Korriban?” Garick shouted.  
“Your kind got what they deserved! I’m simply finishing the job! But this talk about the end of your order is premature when you won’t even be around to see it.”  
Nallus noticed something strangely venomous about the Jedi’s words. The only time he’d ever encountered such a Jedi before was when he confronted Jedi Master Nomen Karr. Could Lamack be…Nallus’ train of thought was cut of when the Jedi turned to his guards and said, “Kill them.”  
Nallus leapt forward, choosing a soldier at random and slashing at him with the powerful thrusts of Juyo, the seventh form of lightsaber combat. His enemy’s staff was sufficient to block his attacks, but Nallus was infinitely faster. From his peripheral vision, he noticed Garick force-dash towards Master Lamack himself and attempt to blast him with a telekinetic shove. Xalek thrust at the second guard, and the third advanced on Jaesa.  
Nallus continued to pour pressure on his opponent. Eventually, one of his blades robbed the trooper of his right leg. When he threw his head back to scream, Nallus removed that as well. He ran to the right side of the room to deal wit the remaining enemies, confident that the day would be theirs soon enough. 

 

Atalis lead Fauna, Chaanar, and T7 across Tibrin’s beach and inside the settlement. Smoke billowed from the town’s central courtyard, and Atalis smelled the stench of burning flesh. He did his best to ignore the bodies scattered about the streets, of soldiers and Jedi alike. However, he couldn’t help noticing the lack of Imperial bodies. He tried not to think about it as the four of them darted toward the command building. Alarms made a terrible racket from inside. Using the Force to sustain the energy in his muscles, he burst inside, his followers close behind. He sensed the Force being unleashed in intense bursts on the third floor; the Sith leading the attack must have engaged Master Lamack. For reasons he couldn’t explain, Atalis sensed a familiar presence amongst the nearby Force signatures, but he didn’t know who it was. He did know, however, that their arrival would turn the tide. Lamack’s project may be set back a large amount, but at least they could escape to fight another day. 

Garick channeled the power of the dark side. He became a conduit of the Force itself. His purple blade clashed with Lamack’s green-hued weapon. Violet streaks and emerald fans flashed about the large room. He would avenge all those murdered by the Republic in their foolish passive-aggressive struggle. Kallig’s vision would be fulfilled and the Jedi would be stopped.  
Garick came at Lamack again with a pair of quick uppercut strikes that his enemy easily parried. Realizing the frontal assault tactic had failed, Lord Garick switched to a defensive form. Lamack took the bait, wasting not a second in going on the offensive. Garick did his best to block and evade Lamack’s Djem So onslaught while being careful to give bits of ground, luring him to a position where his back would be facing the largest of the computer consoles. He’d be able to take out two tanks with one shell: disable the weapon and kill his enemy. At the right moment, Garick shoved an open palm forward with the intent of throwing Lamack into the machine. He was admittedly surprised when the Jedi Master summoned the will to resist and shoved Garick back with his own force wave. Garick slammed into the thick metal wall, landing on his chest. He sprang to his feet, reignited his lightsaber, and was about to rejoin the fight when he sensed an unmistakable light side presence approach from behind. 

 

Atalis and his party rounded the turn in the hall just in time to see three Sith- three humans, one Kaleesh- battling Master Lamack and his bodyguards. The troopers were just being finished off, and the stoic Lamack stood alone amongst his enemies. The Sith with a purple lightsaber in hand turned his head, and Atalis saw who he’d sensed earlier. His nemesis in the Sith order ever since the Imperial seizure of Taris.  
“Darth Imperius,” Atalis said. “I should’ve known.” The action in the room stopped still as friend and foe regarded the newcomers.  
“You should learn to stay out of matters that are not your concern, Atalis,” Garick responded.  
“If it concerns the Republic, it concerns me!”

 

“Welcome back, Atalis,” Lamack greeted. “Your just in time to witness the extinction of the Sith and the end of an Empire!” Atalis was caught off guard by his fellow’s words.  
“What do you mean?”  
Lamack stepped over to his master computer console, typed on a few keys, and then a timer counting down from 10:00 appeared on the screen. The sound of alarms changed from the irritating klaxon to a long, whooping wail.  
“You see,” Lamack said, addressing everyone in the chamber, “this project of mine will win the Republic this war. In precisely ten minutes, my newly constructed missile will fire and be on a direct course for the sun of the Dromund system. The sun’s power and heat waves will diminish, and the Imperial home worlds will freeze to death in darkness!” The eyes of both Jedi and Sith alike went wide.  
“Your project is incomplete,” Imperius declared. “We cut off your supply lines.”  
“Yes,” Lamack said with contempt, “your interference on Nar Shadda means that the missile won’t be able to darken the sun more than a very limited amount of time, but as long as the prototype succeeds, your empire will die.” Atalis noticed Imperius grit his teeth.  
“Lamack,” Atalis began, “this directly defies the Jedi Code. You’re committing a war crime!”  
“What difference does it make?!” Lamack spat back. “The Empire has committed countless war crimes against us!”  
Atalis could feel the dark side pouring of Lamack in oppressive waves.  
“That doesn’t make it right.”  
“You are weak, Atalis! Our order must evolve if we are to crush our enemies!”  
“That’s not what our order is founded on,” Atalis chided.  
“Fool! It doesn’t matter what you think! The Sith Empire will become extinct whether you support it or not!”  
Drawn up in their philosophical debate, neither Lamack nor Atalis detected Garick and Nallus gathering their power. The Dark Lords struck as one, Nallus flinging one of his sabers to slice off Lamack’s sword arm, while Garick launched a barrage of force lightning at the corrupt Jedi. Lamack’s left arm fell away, and his skin blistered and steamed, and the misguided master yelled at the top of his old lungs. The Cerean’s sizzling body fell forward to the floor, dead.  
Atalis was stunned for a few seconds while he tried to process what just happened. He refocused when Nallus turned to Atalis and his party with an eager grin.  
“Not every day one gets to defeat two rivals with a single stroke,” he said, addressing Garick. Atalis easily understood the threat. He wasn’t about to begin futile negotiations. Garick might possess the honor to agree to a truce, but as long as Nallus was present, this would end bloody.  
Atalis raised his weapon and nodded to his followers.  
“T7, shut down that missile! The rest of us will hold them off!”

 

The command room exploded into action once again. Nallus and his apprentice moved to assault Atalis, while the wookie leapt at Xalek. The astromech droid maneuvered its way to the master console. The female Jedi, who wielded a bright blue-blade in each hand, advanced toward him.  
He came in with his classic Makashi style, preforming strikes while parrying the blows that came his way. This Jedi was athletic, and fast, as fast if not faster than him. Her preference for and mastery of Ataru was obvious. He allowed her to back him to the far side of the room, where he then redirected one of her strikes and countered with one of his own using the Makashi riposte. The Jedi nimbly evaded his attack and responded with a force attack, attempting to surround Garick in a stasis field. The field held him for about 3 seconds, before Darth Imperius’s unbreakable will shattered the Force’s hold. He didn’t know who this Jedi was but she was good, very good.  
After blocking another of her attacks, he resorted to a more powerful lightning strike. The Jedi crossed her blades into an X, not only saving her from the electric blast, but deflecting it back at its caster. Garick’s body seized up, giving the nimble female Jedi a chance to strike at him with both blades. He saw it coming and threw himself back just in time to avoid being cut in two. Inevitably, however, her blades caught him just above his stomach. The dark side responded to his moment of agony. It took control of his body, making him instinctively unleash a Force repulse that shot out in a wave with Garick at the center.  
This move shattered glass and disabled machinery throughout the command center. It also flung his opponent off her feet and out the now-shattered window. At the same time, Garick came back into himself. Pain tore at his gut, but he knew how to counter it. Another skill of Sith sorcery he had mastered was how to use the Force to mend the body. It wasn’t easy for a Dark Lord to master healing arts, but he didn’t limit his connection to the Force like so many others. Gathering the Force into a healing aura, Garick called upon his power and willed his damaged tissue repaired. When the aura cleared, the cut the lightsaber had left was gone, save for a faint scar.  
Lord Garick then leapt out the window in pursuit of his Jedi quarry. He saw several Imperial transports landing in the distance. Apparently, Moff Pyron had correctly assumed that something went wrong and sent in the battalion.  
The Jedi had landed on a nearby roof. He once again initiated the charge, being somewhat more aggressive but still maintaining fluency in his blade work. His energy was beginning to dwindle; he needed this fight to end soon. Their sabers hummed and clashed for a multitude of passes, until the female Jedi swung a leg to deliver a sidekick into Garick’s chin. He fell on his back, and he immediately rolled away on his side as the Jedi moved in to finish him off. Her twin blades punctured the rooftop. As Garick sprang to his feet, he reactivating his lightsaber and Garick thrust it in at the Jedi. The silver beam must have appeared as nothing more than a flicker to the naked eye. Having just released her blades from the rooftop, the surprised woman instinctively threw herself back rather than put up a solid block. The blade never met flesh, only succeeding in shredding off some of the Jedi’s lower robe, exposing her left thigh. Garick was about to continue fighting, when he saw the birthmark exposed by torn robe.  
What?  
Garick recognized the mark because he possessed one identical to it on his back.  
How does she have that? There was only one logical answer. No, that isn’t possible. I’m an only child. As much as Garick tried to deny it, the evidence didn’t lie.  
The Jedi girl obviously noticed he was distracted, but she didn’t bother to ask him about it. She leapt over his head and came down with a blow to Garick’s right shoulder blade. He shouted in pain. She then leapt again, this time off the roof to join what sounded like Atalis, calling her to retreat as the Imperial ground force moved in. Garick’s wound and exhaustion made it impossible for him to pursue. He couldn’t heal himself again; he was too drained. He would have to wait until Nallus and the others found him.  
This can’t be right. He kept saying to himself. It’s not possible.

 

T7 beeped enthusiastically, indicating that he had successfully stopped Lamack’s missile from launching with five minutes to spare. The remainder of the battle was mostly a blur to Atalis. He had evaded Nallus’s rampage and incapacitated the human female with the yellow saberstaff. The next thing he knew, he, Chaanar and T7 were racing out the command structure the same way they had come. Atalis knew that once the battle dragged on, the Imperial ships in orbit would probably send down reinforcements. He saw that when he was outside again, he hadn’t been wrong.  
Deflecting blaster bolts while running from a pair of vengeful Sith, the party made their way through the chaos of the island city and back to the area outside the wall where he had hidden their ship. Atop one of the local buildings, he saw Fauna dueling Lord Garick. He shouted to get her attention, and she back-flipped off the edge to join them. They reached the outside of the wall and proceeded to the western shore.  
Soon, they were all back in the ship. Chaanar and T7 piloted and navigated while Zarigso manned the gun turret to hold off any other fighters. The Jedi had spent all their strength in the battle.  
Before any of the Imperial destroyers could get a lock, T7 had plotted a course for Coruscant. Within moments, the ship surged into vortex of hyperspace.

 

 

Chapter 10

 

“This whole time, I had a sister who joined the Jedi that my parents never informed me of?” Garick asked. He was sitting upright on the bed in his quarters on this starship. He was thinking aloud to Jenaya, who was tending the shoulder where the Jedi, his apparent sister, had cut him with her lightsaber.  
Darth Nallus had returned to Dromund Kaas to give a full report to the Dark Council, explaining what Lamack’s weapon was and its intended purpose. The Fury was now on its way to Vaiken spacedock for refuel and resupply.  
“I guess they never wanted to hand her over to the order, so they thought it best to forget about her,” Jenaya offered. She rubbed the wound again with a wet kolto swab, and Garick winced.  
“Still,” Garick continued, “it wasn’t like them to keep secrets. I suppose I shouldn’t deny it. That would explain why she was such a challenge during the battle.”  
After another swab, Jenaya fixed a kolto patch to the shoulder.  
“Wait a minute. If I’m descended from Kallig, then that means she is as well!” His last conversation with Kallig’s ghost flashed through his mind.  
She’s the Jedi I was warned about! She’s the one tarnishing our legacy!  
“I wonder if she even knows what she’s defiling.” Jenaya set down the swab and sat beside him on the bed. “Something must be done about it, but I’m at a loss as to where to begin.”  
“Then maybe you should take your mind off it,” she said, edging closer. “Let your subconscious figure it out.” With that she pressed her face to his in a hungry, tongue-filled kiss. His right arm instinctively pulled her close, and she wrapped herself around him in response. He buried his lips in her neck.  
She’s right. I’ll figure this out in time.  
His mind relaxed, he unzipped and removed her officer’s uniform. He let it fall to the floor as he continued to kiss her collarbone…

 

 

The bustling metropolis of Coruscant seemed chaotic rather than awe-inspiring to Atalis today. It represented the full scope of the Republic, which Atalis now realized was too big to keep track of entirely. Lamack’s fall and plans for the war had disturbed him greatly. It was evidence that even the eldest of Jedi Masters was still susceptible to the dark side. He had heard of similar cases, revered Jedi such as Nomen Karr losing themselves to the dark side in a mad quest for revenge against the Sith. The line between friend and foe was becoming blurred worse than ever. With the election of Chancellor Saresh, the war had taken a turn for the better. The galaxy had seen the Empire wasn’t invincible. They were finally losing their grip.  
But Atalis of all people knew that for any shortcoming or recent setback, the Imperials were far from finished. He knew their current tactical retreat would be over soon, and they would be back, rallying behind a whole new offensive. He only hoped that he and the other defenders of the Republic were ready.  
But what of his new fleet vaporizing weapon the Empire apparently had? He had informed the Jedi Council of his findings and they had, in turn, informed the Senate. He suspected he would be called upon to investigate that as well. And what about their young friend Misate? Lamack said she had disappeared during a scouting mission to Imperial-controlled space. He didn’t now if she was alive or dead.  
Regardless, he would make it his mission to stop Darth Imperius and the rest of the Dark Council. The Sith would be destroyed, but not through the hateful tactics of vengeful souls like Lamack. Rather, they would be stopped because the Republic had something the Sith didn’t: a sense of camaraderie, companionship, and the ability to unite as one. The Dark Lords couldn’t see the value in such, and that was why the light side would always triumph.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darth Imperius considers how to deal with the discovery he made on Tibrin. The Jedi, as yet unaware of his plotting, set their site on a bigger fish...

Part 2

5 standard months later

 

Chapter 11

Lord Garick was the Dark Lord who managed the Ancient Knowledge sphere of influence. His role allowed him to be a leader in the Empire while being in the best position to study all the history, powers, and culture of the Sith. He could now see why Thanaton had been such a traditionalist, but he was not about to become a mirror image of his defeated enemy. He was the perfect blend of scholar and warrior. 

 

Passion, Peace  
Strength, Knowledge  
Power, Serenity  
Victory, Harmony  
Freedom, the Force

 

Garick understood, as Darths Revan and Traya did, that learning from both sides of the Force could grant great power. He refused to submit wholly to the dogma of either the Sith or Jedi Orders. He also understood, of course, the flaws in each system. The Sith were a power unlike any other, but they tended to be too overbearing, and often too sadistic. They were always in danger of being torn apart by infighting. If the Sith ever decided to operate using a bit more subtlety, or at the very least learn to unify, they might actually topple the Republic. The Jedi, on the other hand, were too restricted and too controlling. They had protected the Republic but had allowed it to decline into a decadent, super-imposed government over a galaxy brimming with cultures. He supposed no government was perfect, but the Republic and its squabbling Senate needed to be purged and rebuilt under a stronger, better unifying force. To achieve this, he had withdrawn from the Sith power games to forge his own path and serve the Empire on his own terms.  
Garick believed he was in the right, but then again, so did anyone fighting for a cause. He decided that today was the day that he would begin to convince his newly discovered sister of his views and her destiny in his mission. Uniting his family was the key to sustaining his legacy. He knew many Sith Lords, Emperor Vitiate among them, attempted to prolong their life force so as not to die and miss the future. Darth Imperius, however, harbored no such delusional ambitions.  
Immortality through flesh is still a limitation.  
He would secure a type of immortality, not through rituals or life-supporting armor, but through a bloodline that would shake the stars.  
Which is what brings him to this troublesome Jedi who turned out to be a sibling.  
He paced in deep thought around the private library previously owned by Darth Thanaton, below the Citadel on Dromund Kaas. This was where he centered himself the best; surrounded by the texts and holocrons of his order. He would have attended this issue sooner, if not for the major events that continued the galactic struggle. The Dread Masters revealed themselves to be raising an army in their name on the dark moon of Oricon. They were only defeated by Republic and Imperial forces working in unison.  
With the Masters of Terror subdued, the warring sides returned their attention to one another. Darth Arkous, another Dark Council Member, planned an ambitious attack on the Jedi Temple located on Tython. An attack that Garick was part of. He had been one of the Sith leading the force that stormed the temple. Surprisingly, after victory, Imperial command received reports that the enemy had executed a similar attack against the Sith Academy on Korriban. Garick joined the counterattack that flushed the Jedi off the sacred planet, but several pieces were still missing. The attacks on the Jedi and Sith home worlds appeared to be synchronized, and Darth Arkous’s aide, Lana Beniko, suspected foul play.  
With that matter on hold for the moment, he decided to pick up what had started on Tibrin months ago. Preliminary information searches by Jenaya had revealed that his sister’s name was Fauna Reese. Upon discovering his heritage, he had changed his own surname to Kallig, but ‘Reese’ had not been his Corellian father’s name. Evidently, when his sister moved on to the Jedi, she must have adopted a middle name to use. Garick knew he had to make light of whose legacy she stemmed from. He would do everything in his power to convert her. If she proved too defiant, she would need to be disposed of her. But where to begin…  
Garick’s eyes perused the shelves of books, discs, and holocrons. When they fell on Exar Kun’s holocron, it brought to mind the story of Ulic Qel-Droma and Jedi brother he had killed. Ultimately, it was this act that motivated Ulic to betray Exar due to guilt. Garick would not let his case be the same. He would give her every chance to renounce her current loyalties in favor of her real heritage. The Kallig line would continue through him, or not at all.  
It was then that Garick remembered something. Nallus had captured a young Jedi prior to the battle of Tibrin, the very same Jedi he had confronted aboard the Yalian. He had know idea whether or not his sister had associated with or even met the Miraluka, but if Fauna was truly a Jedi, she would not hesitate to rescue one of her own. This Jedi prisoner had proved most resilient to Imperial questioning. Her defiance ensured that she was placed on the executions list; silent she was useless. But now, he saw a better use for her.  
Standing from the bench he had seated himself on, Lord Imperius walked back to the lift that would bring him back to the Sith sanctum, a new plan formulating in his mind…

 

 

Chapter 12

 

Atalis and Fauna stood before the Jedi Council within a meeting chamber in Coruscant’s Senate tower. With both the Coruscant and Tython temples undergoing reconstruction, this was the best they could manage.  
“We’ve only had an incident like this once before,” Master Gnost-Dural was explaining. “A Republic fleet battling a star destroyer called the Carnage dropped out of contact. When investigatory ships were dispatched, only wreckage was found. At the time, we were too occupied with the war on Corellia to dig deeper.”  
Atalis grew impatient. “I’m confident it is the same weapon,” he insisted.  
“If you’re so certain,” Grand Master Satele Shan suggested, “I recommend that the council place the priority of finding and dismantling this weapon in your hands.”  
Atalis was prepared. He figured that once he told the Council about his find that they would want him to investigate. He was ready for the challenge. If there was one thing about being a Jedi that he was good at, it was maintaining peace by stopping weapons off mass destruction.  
“I’ll make it my foremost concern. This weapon and its creators will do no more harm,” Atalis said. Master Oteg was touched by his enthusiasm.  
“We’re all in agreement then,” the short, green-skinned Jedi said. “Meeting is adjourned.”

 

Once they were back at the ship in Galactic City’s spaceport, Fauna turned to Atalis.  
“Forgive me,” she said, “I didn’t want to worry the council with more bad news.” Atalis shook his head.  
“What are you talking about?”  
“I have to show you something.” She led him into the main hold, where the ship’s central holoprojector stood. Activating it, she continued, “We received a transmission from a civilian channel, but with a highest priority rating…it’s meant for me.” A holorecording appeared and began to play. Atalis recognized the familiar figure of Lord Garick. The Sith Inquisitor was standing over a female Miraluka, who was kneeling with her head down. Atalis recognized her as well: Misate. Garick’s recording spoke.  
“Fauna Reese. I am Darth Imperius of the Dark Council. We dueled on Tibrin nearly two months ago. I’ll waste no time with riddles: I’m calling you out.” Atalis watched with mounting distress. The recording continued.  
“As you can see, I have a fellow Jedi of yours prisoner. She has spent the last two months in an Imperial prison. She doesn’t have much longer. If you wish to return her safely to Republic space, you will come to the attached coordinates. Alone.  
Darth Imperius out.” Fauna looked to Atalis as the hologram faded.  
“Any reason why he’d have it in for you personally?” he asked.  
“I wounded him at Tibrin, but I doubt it’s that simple,” the Jedi Sentinel replied. “I know we have our mission, but…” sadness dripped from her voice. “We can’t just let this go.” Atalis knew the council would say that the hunt for the fleet destroyer was more important, but he was different. He would accomplish both tasks. It was his duty as a Jedi.  
“Looks like scouring for that weapon will have to wait,” he said, reassuringly. Fauna finally relaxed some at his words. 

 

Misate hovered between consciousness and darkness. She hung suspended by a containment field inside an Imperial holding cell. Beyond that, she had no real sense of her surroundings. Hanging here had long slowed circulation through her limbs. Truth serums coursed through her system, burns and sores ached from the electric shocks and other tools the interrogators had used on her. She had been through every kind of torture and punishment in the last two months, the Imperials desperate for any information they could salvage from her mind. She had resisted, but at a terrible price. In addition to suffering from her broken body, she knew the imps had finally lost their patience with her. They’d probably execute her soon.  
Her awareness perked up slightly when she finally became a bit less groggy. She still had no idea where she was, but she could tell she was alone. She decided to be perfectly honest with herself: She didn’t know whether or not she would get out of here. She had no way of escaping and she had long abandoned hope of rescue. Yet somehow, she wasn’t worried. Sure, she was probably hours away from certain death, but letting go of fear had been the finest accomplishment of her Jedi training. Ever since Mimban, she had been to the gates of hell and back, and fear had never been a problem. Fear only worked against someone. Sith Lords would argue otherwise. That’s why the Jedi needed to purge their influence form the galaxy. No one deserved to live in fear.  
Spreading her awareness further, she realized she was on a moving ship. Were the Imperials about to sell her as a slave to the Hutts, or maybe leave her for dead on some desolate planetoid? Now that she thought about it, she recalled one event from the other day when her captors had taken her out of her cell. Thinking harder, she recalled that she had been kneeling before a Sith Master as part of a recording (she remembered a holocam). She had been too disoriented to grasp what was being said. The ship she was on was probably taking her to whomever the Sith was communicating with.  
She felt the ship jostle as it exited hyperspace. Was this place to be her grave, wherever here was? A door opened to her right and two men entered. She recognized them. The weakly built, pale-skinned, shorthaired interrogators who had served as her tortures. If her throat wasn’t so dry, she would’ve spit on their ugly faces in defiance. One of them spoke.  
“Your finally about to become useful, Jedi scum,” he said, his voice dripping with sadistic amusement. He led up a remote and pressed a button, sending an electric surge through her that made her body spasm and then go limp as she lost consciousness once again. 

 

 

Chapter 13

Imperius stood with crossed arms in a dark, lifeless hangar. His allies moved about, making preparations. This was where they would ensnare his Jedi of a sibling. Jenaya appeared next to him and spoke.  
“Do you think the Jedi will come alone?” she asked him.  
“I guarantee you she won’t,” he replied. “She’d be smart to bring at least one ally. I suspect she’ll bring more than that.” Jenaya nodded.  
“And what about that other Jedi girl? Will she go free?” Imperius inspected the semiconscious red-haired Miraluka who sat limbs bound on the cold durasteel floor.  
“ If our quarry is cooperative, this one will be released.”  
“I wouldn’t put much faith in that,” Jenaya said, moving away to continue their preparations. Jenaya was right. Jedi were the kind of people with a calm but condescending arrogance. If his sister was the kind of Jedi Atalis was, she would resist rather than make things easy.  
So be it.  
He would remove Fauna as a threat to the Empire and cleanse the dishonor she brought to the Kallig name, one way or the next. 

 

The image from the viewport was not encouraging. A small, derelict station floating in what looked like the darkest corner of the galaxy. The navicomputer put them right near the border between Imperial and Hutt space. Atalis figured this was the most isolated location he had ever been to; the logical place for a trap.  
Atalis seriously doubted the Sith would make it a civilized meeting. That was why he, Chaanar, T7, and Zarigso would hold back while Fauna went ahead. Hopefully their numbers would give them the element of surprise.  
Chaanar was piloting. The Wookie pulled into the only unshielded hangar, and Atalis went to the main hold to speak to Fauna one more time. His apprentice was plainly worried. Atalis could sympathize. She had been directly challenged by a Dark Council member and forced to charge into what was obviously a trap.  
“You’re more than capable of handling yourself,” he said, giving a few final words of encouragement. “I’ve trained you well.”  
“Thank you, Master.”  
“May the Force be with you.”

 

Fauna disembarked and started down the corridor that led out of the hangar. She was told to meet with Darth Imperius alone. She’d already disobeyed that, but she could still keep some allies in reserve. Atalis and the others waited in the hangar for her signal if something went wrong.  
The coordinates their enemy had provided led her to this seemingly abandoned station. It was in such a state of disrepair, she failed to ascertain what its original purpose was. The lights were non-functional, casting the interior into near total darkness. The Sith Lord was here, of that she was certain. Her senses picked him up as soon as they docked. He was clearly making no attempt to mask his presence, suggesting that was how she was supposed to find him. He was somewhere on the upper levels.  
She scouted around for an active turbolift, finally finding one in a corridor to the north. On her way up, she focused on gathering the energies of the Force. She performed at her peak when fully concentrating. Her strength lay in her mastery of fighting with two lightsabers. Each of them hummed with a resilient blue blade when active. She knew basic Force techniques, but it was when she got up close and personal with her opponents that she truly excelled.  
The turbolift doors parted and Fauna found herself facing a large blast door. The door was locked. She supposed she could cut a hole with her twin sabers, but before she could raise a finger, the door unlocked and groaned open. That meant she was being watched.  
By the time she stepped inside, her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. She appeared to be in some sort of observatory. There was a large transparisteel viewport out into space, along with a large, lone computer console jutting out from the wall. The room was largely empty, except for the human male who Fauna recognized as the Sith Lord from the hologram: Darth Imperius. Fauna then also noticed Misate on her knees facing her. The Miraluka looked up as she approached, but said nothing.  
“Alright, Sith, I’m here. What’s this about?” 

 

Garick was impressed by the boldness and straightforwardness of the Jedi as she marched into the station’s overlook. He could see the similarities now to his mother. Her hair was darker, but other than that, she looked every part his sibling.  
“This is about you, Jedi” Garick said. He knew she wouldn’t believe him at first, but he would wear her down.  
“Did slicing your back really get to you that bad?” she asking in a mocking tone.  
“This is far bigger than petty revenge,” he explained. “Do you want to know why you won that battle?”  
“Maybe because you’re not as powerful as you would like to believe?” she asked.  
“Because you are of my blood,” Garick nearly shouted. 

 

Fauna didn’t catch what her adversary said at first. Then she was bewildered at such a wild claim.  
“Okay, I’ve seen arrogant Sith, but this is ridiculous,” she said shrugging off the remark. “You think that I’m so strong I must be related to you?!”  
“It’s the truth,” Imperius said. “When we fought on Tibrin, I exposed that birthmark on your thigh. I have an identical one on my back.” The Sith Inquisitor proved his point by partially removing his robe and turning so his back face Fauna. There was indeed a birthmark back there, and it indeed was identical to her own. Her mind began to grapple with the implications.  
He has to be tricking me. This is part of his trap.  
“I sense your uncertainty,” Imperius told her. “You were born on Corellia, the same as I. I would remind you of our parents, but you probably don’t remember. The Jedi take children away from their families!”  
“Stop!” Fauna lost control for an instant. After regaining her composure, she said, “So you know where I’m from. Any imp spy could’ve stolen that intel.” Her argument was valid, but her resolve was slipping. She was actually starting to believe him.  
“I am descended from the ancient Sith Lord Kallig. That means you are as well,” Imperius explained. Fauna began to feel like she was drowning.  
“First you tell me I’m your sister and now I’m part of a Sith family?!”  
“Search your feelings,” Imperius pressed, “You know it to be true.” Fauna’s mind felt like it was gasping for air, Even as the Sith said the words she realized he wasn’t lying. She couldn’t stay at this disadvantage; she needed to act.  
“Enough! What do you want from me?!” Fauna snapped.  
“Your blood is wasted in the Jedi Order,” Imperius said. “You and I have the same heritage. I offer you the chance to join me, to embrace what the Jedi have denied you.”  
“More like saved me from,” Fauna retorted.  
“Think this through! The Jedi forbid emotion, family, pride in what you can accomplish. They are limiting you. You could become so much more if you claimed your inheritance and united our cause.”  
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Fauna shot back.  
“Your very existence as a Jedi is an insult!” the Sith Lord snapped, finally losing some patience. “I will end that by any means necessary. If you will not leave, then neither will your friend!” Imperius activated his silver-bladed lightsaber and held it menacingly over the vulnerable Misate.  
Fauna knew the time to act was now. She sent out a signal to Atalis, but not a signal through some form of machinery, but rather through the Force, touching her master’s mind and warning him. Imperius must have sensed it, for he spoke.  
“And your master won’t save you this time.”

 

 

Chapter 14

Atalis sensed Fauna’s urgency through the Force. He swung to Zarigso and Channar.  
“It’s time,” he said. “Let’s move!” Their plan included rapid response. Their first priority was now to get Misate to safety. They sprinted out of the hangar and down the first hall when suddenly, violent popping sounds exploded at their feet, followed by a deadly hiss. Within seconds, Atalis and his party were choking on clouds of-  
“Gas!” Atalis yelled. He felt his chest seize and his muscles tighten. He summoned the Force to hold his breathe long enough to get free of the cloud, but it was costly. The gas had taken its toll and his eyes began to water. Atalis managed to notice the Zarigso had gotten clear of the gas cloud as well, and while he seemed to be suffering just as bad as Atalis, his military training had kicked in and stopped him from panicking. It was then that Atalis realized Chaanar was still caught in the cloud. His senses instinctively sought out the Wookie and pulled him out of the haze with the Force. Prolonged exposure to the gas left the Wookie in an even more sickened state. But they were all still alive.  
And that was when Atalis’ danger sense peeked. He was able to look up in time to see two aliens charging them, one Kaleesh and the other Atalis could swear was- yes, it was Garick’s Dashade. The monster barreled pasted him and at Chaanar. The massive brute began crushing the dazed Wookie into the floor with his fists. Zarigso drew his blaster rifle, only to be knocked aside be a lightning blast from the Kaleesh Sith. Atalis ignited his own blade and began to duel with his bone-masked enemy, but the effects of the gas made him sluggish and less powerful. The Kaleesh’s double blade was hard to track even under ideal circumstances, and the Jedi Master knew this bout would not be won through brute strength.  
Atalis made a risky spin and roundhouse kicked his opponent so that the apprentice was closer to the dissipating gas. Atalis seized his chance to pick up a collapsed portion of the ceiling. As he prepared to throw it, Garick’s apprentice reacted with a sustained current of lightning. The Jedi used his sword hand to block it with his lightsaber. Atalis regarded the technique.  
He takes after his master.  
Atalis threw this metal slab, which scored a direct hit on his target; the Kaleesh apprentice was smashed into the wall, then fell face first to the ground.  
He was pleased to see that Chaanar had gotten the Dashade off of himself. Zarigso was back up as well, and fired a burst of shots at the hulking creature. The bolts weren’t enough to puncture the Dashade’s thick skin, but it was enough of a distraction for Chaanar to move in to pin Garick’s pet. So Atalis was completely taken aback when a high-powered blaster bolt ripped through the air from an adjacent hall and struck his Wookie companion. The Jedi Master peered into the darkness, and he could just make out the silhouette of a female running back down the hall. He prepared to pursue, but then returned his attention to his vulnerable companions. Captain Zarigso raised his rifle and yelled to Atalis,  
“I can handle this one. Go!”

 

Fauna knew she would have to stop Darth Imperius from killing Misate before the others showed up. And to do that, she would have to get his attention first. She ignited both her lightsabers.  
“You talk a lot. Let’s see if you have the action to back it up.” Imperius responded by performing the Makashi salute with his own weapon. Fauna saw her chance. She released a jolt of the Force that picked up Misate and slid her over to the far side of the room. Before her adversary had time to react, she sprung on her feet and leapt toward the Sith.  
Their battle began with her as the aggressor. She was a master of Ataru, and now she was unleashing the full might of her training. Imperius couldn’t even get an attack in edge wise. But despite being forced on the defensive, the lean Sith either blocked, redirected, or sidestepped her attacks, and all with a one-handed grip. She switched tactics by mixing her fast and acrobatic Ataru style with more moderate strikes from Niman. Imperius, however, was quick to notice the shift, and he took advantage almost immediately. After redirecting her next two attacks, Imperius’s blade swung in from her side and searing a cut into her right arm. He pressed his advantage, slashing again and landed a blow that would have removed her leg had she not backed off, but instead only singed her knee. Before she could recover, Imperius followed his flurry up with a kick right in her stomach.  
This sent her reeling back further, but she managed to stay on her feet. Numbing herself to her wounds, she held her ground. Imperius looked satisfied.  
“Indeed you are powerful,” he said, “You will accomplish much once you have joined me.”  
“I’ll never join you!” she snapped back. “And I don’t care whose blood you have! You’re no brother of mine!”  
“Perhaps. We shall see.”  
Imperius made a gesture with his hand, and Fauna’s vision became hazy. The room seemed to twist and turn in every direction. The Jedi braced herself for an attack, reaching out with her senses rather than eyes. However, it became unnecessary as her sight returned to normal within seconds. Fauna scanned her surroundings, but saw no sign of Darth Imperius. She was about to assume he fled, when suddenly he emerged from the darkness just behind her. She spun around, both sabers coming in for a deadly strike. They sliced Imperius cleanly through the torso.  
Did I just kill a Dark Council member?  
It took her a moment to realize Imperius hadn’t collapsed. He stood frozen in front of her. She became even more shocked when his whole body turned to vapor. Before she could contemplate it, her enemy appeared again, this time from her other side. Her blue blades swiped the air hit her foe in a way that would’ve decapitated him, had this image not have disappeared in the same fashion.  
Doppelgangers! This is Sith Sorcery!  
Her realization was confirmed when four more identical Sith Lords manifested before her. All raised their illusionary weapons. Fauna knew that by the time she fought them all down and determined which was the real one, he would have the drop on her. Fortunately, she knew had a way to dispatch them all quickly.  
Fauna hurled both her lightsabers; one to her left the other to her right. Guided by the Force, the spun in deadly arcs that sawed through all four ‘Imperiuses’. Once her weapons returned to her hands, she looked around to see which body had not evaporated. Surprisingly, they all had. That meant the Sith Sorcerer-her brother, she still couldn’t fathom- was still alive and she was in his sights. She scanned the observatory again, but her opponent was still nowhere to be found. Then, it was as if the very air before her shot forth lightning. Fauna’s body seized up as she was engulfed by electricity. Her skin burned and she yelled as she was thrown to the floor. Darth Imperius seemed to materialize from the air itself. The Jedi Sentinel realized he had been using another Sith spell to cloak his physical form and his presence in the Force.  
He’s just been toying with me.  
“You could’ve had power like this if you had accepted my offer. An offer, I should point out, that is still open.”  
Fauna was in too much pain to reply. She knelt on the cold, hard durasteel floor, her adversary’s weapon poised above her head. She didn’t know where her master was, but she faced a decision: save herself and submit to Imperius, or die a young Jedi. Her train of thought was cut off by the sound of a blast door opening. Then she heard the voice of her master.  
“Step away from my padawan!”

 

Atalis pursued the anonymous female up to the top level of the station. When the turbolift opened, he didn’t find her, but instead, a large blast door. He sensed both his apprentice and Darth Garick on the other side. The door had been locked, so he stretched out with the Force and unlocked it with a flick of his wrist. He burst in to the sight he dreaded: Fauna was at the mercy of the Dark Lord.  
“Step away from my padawan!” he said to Garick.  
“Your in no position to be making demands, ‘Master’ Atalis.” It was then that Atalis noticed two other figures in the room. One was Misate, standing upright near the far wall. The second was the HK-51 series assassin droid that held the Miraluka at gunpoint. He also registered the click of weapon locking on to him, and he presumed the female Imperial that led him up here had a rifle aimed at his back.  
“I was going to make this as simple as possible, but you had to resist,” Imperius declared. “Now you, and everyone you brought here will suffer for it.” Atalis understood the implied threat: Garick was going to kill them all. He should have never left Zarigso and the others alone. The Jedi Master might have been able to take on one of these three, but if each of them fought in unison, he would loose. Atalis knew this was a trap. And he had run head long into it. Before he could respond to the Sith’s threat, Fauna spoke up.  
“Wait!” She said, speaking to Garick. “You arranged this trap for me. If that’s really true, then listen. If you allow my master, Misate and the others to leave, I’ll…I’ll let you take me.” Atalis was shocked.  
“What?!?  
“It’s me he wants,” Fauna explained, “If he gets what he came for, he’ll neglect you for now.”  
“You can’t be serious!” Atalis warned, “No Sith would ever honor an agreement like that.”  
“On the contrary,” Imperius said. “If your pupil surrenders herself to us, then you can have your Miraluka back and leave with your lives.”  
“Silence, Sith!” Atalis shouted, “You won’t be corrupting her at all.” He drew his lightsaber. “I won’t allow it!”  
“Your life and those of your crew are in her hands,” Garick pressed. “She is trying to let you keep them. I advise you listen to her. For if you resist further, your ship will be destroyed and you will all die.”  
“Master, please,” Fauna continued, “Let him capture me. That way we can all leave with our lives.” Atalis could tell his apprentice was dead set on this. It was a noble sacrifice, but one he couldn’t bear to stomach. But he also saw no other conceivable way out of this situation.  
“Fine,” he said, his voice low and defeated. He extinguished his lightsaber. “Just tell me one thing,” he continued addressing the Sith Inquisitor. “Why? What was the point of this?”  
Imperius responded by deactivating his own weapon and speaking in a casual tone.  
“I’m sure your Miraluka friend overheard our previous…discussion. She can enlighten you.” With that, the Sith Lord grasped Misate with the Force and flung her through the air at the Jedi Master. Their bodies collided and they fell through the open doorway. Before Atalis realized what was happening, the Imperial sniper behind him had somersaulted through the door, which slammed shut and locked itself. Misate got to her feet, but Atalis just lay there for a moment, staring hopelessly at the door’s cold, dividing metal. 

 

 

Chapter 15

The Jedi Temple on Coruscant was filled with dilapidated ramparts, caved-in hallways, and cluttered debris. At the moment, Atalis felt the exact same way. He stood hunched on a balcony of the Senate tower, overlooking the ruins of the once-proud Jedi stronghold. He watched as construction personnel and maintenance droids worked tirelessly to restore the symbol of the Jedi’s dedication to the Republic to its former glory.  
The temple had been destroyed because of the Sith’s trap on Alderaan. Now, Atalis had succumbed to another Sith trap, but one far more personal. Atalis and Misate had returned to his ship to find Chaanar and Zarigso, bloodied and battered at the hands of Garick’s apprentice. True to his word, Imperius had not ordered them killed, but they would be in medical recovery for weeks. And Fauna, his only pupil, had been taken.  
“Your emotions betray you,” Atalis was roused from his thoughts by the voice of Master Oteg. The short, green-skinned Jedi joined him on the balcony. The senior Jedi turned his attention to the reconstruction below. “Chancellor Saresh claims the Temple will be rebuilt before the year’s end.”  
“At least some wounds heal,” Atalis muttered. Oteg turned to face him.  
“I understand your pain, but you should not have acted so rashly.”  
“I know.” It had become painfully clear on the ride back to the core worlds. Both Atalis and Fauna had known that Imperius was setting a trap. They had thought they would be able to catch the Sith Lord unawares, but that had been futile. Looking back on it, he saw how poorly they had handled the situation. And all this guilt was piled on with the shock that had come with Misate’s revelation: Lord Garick was Fauna Reese’s brother.  
“You mustn’t allow this to become a personal vendetta for you,” Oteg counseled. “Revenge is not the Jedi way.” Atalis knew this as well, and it was all he could do not to pursue Darth Imperius after leaving the station.  
“Where do I restart, Master?” Atalis wondered aloud.  
“Take up the mission you were given before all this began,” Oteg advised. “Find the Empire’s fleet devastator and bring them down further. Eventually, the Sith will be defeated and those who have wronged the Republic will face justice.”  
As upset as Atalis was, he knew he couldn’t simply stay down and wallow in failure. He would get back up on the speeder no matter the injury. Master Oteg must have sensed his resolve.  
“Come,” he said, “SIS has new intelligence on that very weapon.” The two Jedi Masters headed back inside as the clamor of the construction cranes continued.

 

It was practically a cliché for an enterprising, powerful Sith Lord to maintain a fortress, a stronghold to call his or her own. Imperius understood why many Dark Council members created such strongholds on Dromund Kaas; they wanted to be at the center of Imperial politics, at the source of Sith power. The meditation chamber and office he had inherited from Darth Thanaton had served as his known residence when he wasn’t staying on his ship. But those chambers were merely a front, a way of keeping up appearances. Unlike many of his brethren, he had been plucked from the galaxy that was being fought over, not from some rich family living in Kaas City. As a result, he had come to appreciate the various worlds the Empire fought to conquer.  
His starship blazed a wake as it speed over the water and slowed down as it approached a hangar connected to a seemingly ordinary facility. For Darth Imperius, the oceans of Manaan provided him with his protection from the prying eyes of the Dark Council or the Republic. This place was his retreat, his safe haven. The oceans were truly beauty to behold, and the Selkath neutrality laws prevented any foreign parties from establishing a military presence on the water world. Whenever they need supplies, Jenaya or Andronikos could simply travel to the mercantile plaza disguised as civilians and get what they needed.  
“I could get used to this,” Jenaya had remarked upon seeing the infinite rolling waves when they had first settled into their new home.  
His interceptor touched down in the facility’s main hangar. Garick strode out first, followed by Jenaya. Next came Fauna, flanked by Xalek and HK-51. She was bound by cortosis shackles and her entire face was covered by a heavy cloth.  
Aside from the droids that maintained the facility, only he and his crew lived here when they weren’t on the ship or mission. And now, they had a guest.  
Imperius watched his apprentice and HK-51 escort her to a large turbolift that would take her deeper into the fortress – and deeper underwater. The only part of his home visible above the crashing waves was the top level. All the real action took place below.  
Before following the others inside, he stopped to glance outside. The stars glinted in Manaan’s night sky. War raged across those stars, and Garick foresaw that it would continue for millennia after this war concluded.  
Eventually, he himself used the turbolift to descend several levels. He started down the central corridor that would take him to Fauna’s special cell. He wanted to begin converting her to his side as soon as possible. Most of the halls of his stronghold had transparisteel windows that offered eerie but awe-inspiring views of the ocean depths. He had just caught up with the others who were lowering his sister into the isolation cell, when Jenaya strode down the hall from the other side.  
“I’m afraid catching up will have to wait,” she said. “Something urgent has come up.” He realized she was being vague because Fauna was still within earshot. He turned to HK-51.  
“Administer the sedative. Keep her on camera at all times.”  
“Acknowledgement: It will be done, Master.” As the assassin droid scrambled to follow his orders, he walked back down the way he had come with Jenaya so she could elaborate. “What’s happened?” he inquired.  
“There’s been an intelligence leak,” she explained. “The Republic may soon learn about the Silencer.” 

 

 

Chapter 16

“His name is Commodore Jekivan,” said Marcus Traint, director of Republic SIS. “Our analysts have confirmed that he was one of the project coordinators for this weapon we’re hunting.” Atalis stood with Master Oteg, the director, and a handful of other SIS personnel. They were viewing a hologram of the Imperial commodore in a windowless war room in a building SIS used to house its analytics offices. The room’s only illumination came from the large central holoprojector and the various consoles and computer equipment clustered about. Atalis also knew that he would be one of the few Jedi to ever see the inside.  
“He sent us a file detailing his role in the project along with just enough information for us to verify his claims. Apparently, this fleet-vaporizing super weapon is called the Silencer,” Marcus continued. “He is willing to arrange a meeting and he will give us all he knows about the Empire and the Silencer project in exchange for a full pardon and safe retirement in Republic space.”  
“You’re the expert on spy games, Director,” Atalis said, “Do you think it’s a trap?”  
“If it is, it’s a very risky one for the Empire,” Marcus responded. “The file he sent us already had enough details to expose the Silencer. We’ll get weapon specs and other data if we cooperate.”  
Atalis wasn’t sure what to think. Recent experience had left him skeptical when dealing with Imperials, but he could see the value of this officer’s proposal. “What else was in the file?”  
“Apparently, the Silencer initiative was the pet project of Darth Imperius, a member of the Dark Council.”  
Atalis kept suddenly risen ire restrained.  
All the more reason to end such a foul project.  
“Where does this Jekivan want to meet?” Atalis inquired.  
“Nar Shadda, of all places,” the Director answered.  
“Of course,” Atalis nearly moaned. “The perfect place for off-the-record meetings. I take it he wants to meet alone?”  
“Yes,” elaborated Marcus. “We figured you would want to be the emissary we sent to talk to him, given that this is your mission.”  
“You would be right.”  
“I’ll have SIS agents watching you the whole time,” Marcus declared. “We won’t miss a thing.” Atalis could’ve have insisted on handling the situation alone, but after his last fiasco of a secret meeting, he was in no mood to take chances.  
“I’ll be ready to leave as soon as your agents are,” Atalis said.  
“Without the support of the rest of your crew?” the Director asked.  
“It’ll be several more days before they can even walk again. This mission’s mine.”  
Master Oteg broke his silence. “Remember, Atalis: A Jedi is not baited by anger. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.”  
Atalis admired how the Jedi teachings could seem so simple, and yet be so difficult to constantly adhere to.  
Sometimes adherence to a single ideology isn’t enough, he privately speculated.  
“The dark side will not claim me,” he said aloud. “The days of the Empire’s fleet killer are numbered.”

 

Sylim wiped the sweat from his forehead before it got in his eyes. He moved his head to dodge an incoming fist. He used the opening to kick his opponent’s leg out from under him. The brutish weequay fell to the sand. And the crowd cheered. Sylim risked a quick smile at the onlookers, then returned his attention to the fuming Weequay.  
Sylim was a Mandalorian bounty hunter. He had worked plenty of jobs for plenty employers, chief among them the Empire. With Mandalore’s recent alliance with them still holding, he had found the business in the Empire was far more lucrative than that of the Republic. Though he did his best to remain independent, his association with the Empire had caused him to become wanted in Republic space for the deaths of multiple Jedi. Since Republic authorities had been hounding him, he stuck to the Hutts and Imperials for his income. And once and awhile, he enjoyed matches as a gladiator here in the pits on Geonosis.  
He was bathed in sweat. He had no armor or weapons this round. He was fighting with only his gloves, greaves, and boots, exposing his silver, muscle-bound Rattataki skin. The Hutts and Mandalorians ran fighting arenas on a variety of worlds, from Nar Shadda to Cato Neimoidia. The Geonosian arenas always had the most popular fights. The sand and intense desert heat weighed heavily on Sylim, as if the world’s gravity had been doubled, but he refused to succumb.  
The hulking weequay charged him again. Sylim responded by summersaulting into the alien’s legs, knocking him down again. This time, however, Sylim pinned his enemy with his body, and proceeded to dish out two successive punches to the Weequay’s face. The rough-skinned combatant went limp and unconscious. That took care of all 3 opponents. A horn sounded, and Sylim raised his fists in victory to the clamoring crowd.  
Returning to the prep area through a gate in the arena wall, Sylim was greeted by his Geonosian manager with his Aqualish assistant.  
“Someone here to see you,” the insectoid told him in his native bug language. “Says his business is quite urgent.” Sylim wasn’t expecting any visitors. If someone had a job offer, they usually sent a recorded message.  
“Tell them I’ll meet them in the Baron’s Box once I’ve dried off.” 

 

The ‘Baron’s Box’ was the affectionate name for a VIP interior-seating section in the upper levels of the arena. High-paying customers were seated there to watch the combatants they bet so many credits on. The Geonosians preferred outdoor seating and used that for most of their arenas, but realized they needed to cater to human comforts if they wished to keep certain customers.  
Imperius sat on one of the plush couches near the long window overlooking the battleground. Below, a gundark was being released to fight a drexl beast from Onderon. He turned when the tattooed Rattataki he had come to see sat opposite him in a chair. A few Geonosians were using the box as well, but their attention was focused on the match below.  
“Didn’t expect to see you here,” Sylim greeted as he sat down.  
“I see you’ve been keeping busy,” the Sith Lord replied.  
“Am I correct in assuming this isn’t a social call?”  
“Naturally, it isn’t.”  
Sylim sipped from an energy drink then spoke again. “A job offer, then?”  
Sylim had worked jobs for the Sith and Imperius before, usually when the Empire needed capable operatives above the average military foot soldier, such as the Trandoshan uprising on Denova, or the droid rebellion on the Zadd moon.  
“I need you to find someone. His name is Commodore Jekivan,” Imperius explained. “He is of great value to me if he can be permanently silenced.”  
“What makes this guys so important?” Sylim wanted to know.  
Imperius wasn’t about to mention the Silencer.  
“He’s a defector planning to spill some significant secrets to the Republic” Imperius responded. Sylim leaned back in the chair and put a hand to his chin in thought. He knew it was risky telling the bounty hunter this, but he also knew from past experience that Sylim wouldn’t take the job unless Imperius was straight with him.  
“What’s in this for me?” Sylim demanded.  
“Double your usual fee if you bring back proof of your kill along with destroying any intelligence he may have copied or stolen. And after tying up any loose ends, of course.”  
The two men looked out to the arena when then a chorus of cheers ran from the crowd. The drexl was overpowering the gundark. Imperius knew the job didn’t sound glamorous, tracking a single target that wouldn’t put up much of a fight physically, so he thought it best to appeal to the Mandalorian’s thrill for the hunt. “This target’s scared for his life. He’ll do almost anything to escape you. And what’s more, it’ll be a race against the Republic to find him: The chase of lifetime. What do say?”  
The Rattataki Mandalorian gave a swift nod. “Alright, Imperius, you’ve got yourself a deal.” Their handshake was simultaneous with the roar of the crowd as the drexl howled in victory. 

 

 

Chapter 17

Atalis had been to Nar Shadda several times before, but every time he was here, the gluttony and decadence of such an impure place always flooded his Force awareness. He walked among the various mercenary enforcers, starship part vendors, and staff that worked the spaceport. He new at least one of every space-faring species lived on Nar Shadda, and as he looked around, he could see Twi’leks, Zabrak, Duros, and even some native Evocii. He was certain that a number of the spaceport travelers were probably eager gamblers, wanting to test themselves and strike a rich life through the moon’s famous casinos. He was also certain most if not all of them would be subject to living like refugees in gang-ruled streets when they lost everything to gambling. The illicit atmosphere was an inevitable consequence of Hutt rule, and Atalis knew that the sheer number of the population made the moon perfect for secret meetings.  
Atalis made his way to the speeder pad. He was dressed in a casual flight suit with light armor concealed beneath and his lightsaber tucked away. To others he would appear like just another spacer. He hoped so anyway.  
The coordinates Commodore Jekivan had provided instructed him to go to the Corellian sector, a gangland area where the Exchange housed a number of its industrial projects. He rented a speeder taxi and proceeded to the Corellian sector, passing by the towering city skyscrapers and all the opulent lights and signs that mimicked the cosmopolitan feel of Coruscant. His taxi took him steadily lower, making more than a few sharp turns around some of the larger structures. Eventually, the taxi set down on a landing platform at the sector. He disembarked, walking with long strides as to move fast but doing his best not to appear hurried.  
It took about 5 minutes of walking before his first test. Two armored and helmeted members of the Krayt gang were harassing a human, a refugee or at least poor resident by his appearance. From their shouting, Atalis gauged that the man owned a sum of money to the gang, and had failed to pay up.  
An all to common story on this moon.  
Atalis desperately wanted to help the man, but he knew doing so would reveal that he was a Jedi, and that would only draw unwanted attention. So he simply had to ignore the gang members as they began to pummel the helpless citizen.  
He continued walking for almost twenty more minutes, making several turns here and there. Fortunately, he reached his destination without anything more than a few suspicious glances from passing gang members. He found himself walking through an open doorway along that led to a closed-off back alley down one of the streets. The alley led to a single room that had the appearance of a dilapidated office. There was a desk with a chair behind it as well as a small holoprojector with a mail drop box next to it. Atalis hadn’t been inside the room for even a minute when a deep, somewhat raspy voice spoke from behind him.  
“I didn’t expect a response so soon.”  
Atalis turned to face an aged, dark-skinned man dressed in gray Imperial army fatigues. The man stopped short of hand-shaking distance.  
“I’m glad to see my offer was taken seriously, Jedi.” Atalis knew he was speaking casually because Commodore Jekivan had only sent coordinates for the meeting once a file containing Atalis’s description was sent to him.  
“What is this place?” Atalis asked.  
“It’s an old Imperial Intelligence listening post,” Jekivan answered, closing the door to the room. “Cleared out of here some 6 months ago.” He closed the door to the office behind him. While the Imperial Commodore was keeping his voice calm, Atalis could sense the anxiety wafting off of him. Clearly, the other man was just as suspicious of a trap.  
“Do you have the information?” Atalis inquired.  
“You first,” Jekivan said flatly. Atalis removed a datapad from his pocket and help it up in plain view.  
“An official pardon as signed by the Supreme Chancellor herself, as well as an enclosed 40,000 credit grant.” Jekivan similarly removed something form his pocket. Rather than a datapad or storage crystal, the Imperial withdrew a code cylinder.  
“Weapon specifications, design schematics, and scientist logs on the Silencer project. Everything from initial tests to prototype assembly.” Atalis could still sense the man’s hesitation, so he thought it best to try and get him more open before completing the transaction.  
“Why are you doing this?” the Jedi Master wanted to know. “What made you want to sell out such a big secret?” The Commodore barely hesitated.  
“Because I’m done with this war. The whole galaxy is. I see how it’s been unfolding. One side does or builds something new and the other side immediately does something else to counter it. There are enough weapons out there to make this whole galaxy as inhospitable as Mustafar. I know about the incident with that crazy Cerean Jedi on Tibrin.”  
Atalis thought back on Master Lamack’s attempt to depopulate the Imperial homeworlds with his weapon. He very much empathized with Jekivan’s views.  
“The production of super weapons will keep escalating on and on and on until there’s nothing left. I just want one side to win already.”  
“I’m almost afraid to ask,” Atalis began, “but why choose the Republic?”  
“Because I don’t want the ruling faction to be the one that is willing to backstab and betray at the cost of it’s own war,” Jekivan answered. Atalis new he was referring to the Sith. “Maybe if the Emperor were still around to maintain order but…not now…not like this.” Atalis decided that Jekivan had said all he was willing to.  
“Then what’s say we jump start the process?” Atalis offered, holding out his datapad.  
“Exactly,” Jekivan responded. But before he handed Atalis the cylinder, he stopped short. “Listen. I’m not stupid. I know SIS is watching. I want your word that I can walk away from this.” Atalis nodded with sincerity.  
“You have my word as a Jedi.” The two men completed the handoff in silence and Jekivan sighed in relief. Just before he turned to go, however, Atalis’s senses picked up on something ominous. “Do you smell that?” the Jedi asked. The Commodore looked to Atalis in confusion before his eyes became fluttery and his head started to shake.  
Gas!  
“No!” Atalis shouted. He thrust a fist forward, ripping the door from its rectangle in the wall and sending Jekivan flying outside. The Imperial officer wailed with panic just as Atalis himself propelled out of the room. A fraction of a second after he did so, there was a small explosion right outside the door. Smoke engulfed them both. Atalis had just enough time to rub his tearing eyes before a massive metal gauntlet slammed him directly in the face. He didn’t quite black out, but his vision left him. All he heard was the sound of three sharp blaster shots that erupted in the night. Just as his vision returned, he saw Commodore Jekivan being lifted from the ground by an armored figure; a trio of fresh blaster burns dotted the former Imperial’s torso. His shock became panic for the briefest of instants when he realized the code cylinder was gone form his own hand.  
Then the Jedi Master heard another sound; the escaping gas from rocket boosters. The armored figure flew directly upward, propelled by a jetpack. Atalis did not waste time thinking. Calling upon the Force, hopped up onto a nearby bench to increase his height, and leapt upward in pursuit of the ambusher…

 

Fauna steadily returned to consciousness only to find herself in an unfurnished, perfectly square room. The only illumination stemmed from the dim glow of a shimmering, blue force field that was the room’s ceiling. She was seated with her back against one of the four walls. When she tried to sit up, she discovered that her hands were bound by something heavy and metallic at the wrists. Looking down, she saw that she was still bound by cortosis binders, the kind used on force-wielders. In her weakened state, she couldn’t lift them off her lap, so she simply sat there and tired to recall what had happened.  
She remembered surrendering. Atalis and the others had fallen into Darth Imperius’s trap as much as she had. She had sacrificed herself so they could get away, because Imperius had been after her specifically. She temporarily forgot why, but then it struck her, and fact still hurt her head. Darth Imperius was her brother, and she his sister. Previously she had thought he was tricking her, but she had sensed the truth in his words, as well as suffered defeat at his hands in battle. She sensed it about his Force aura during their fight. He was who he claimed to be. She tried to think back on what his presence felt like, in hopes that she could become more used to it. Doing so was easier than she thought, until she realized she wasn’t sensing him in her memory, but in real time. And that caused her to glance up.  
Through the shield, a single individual was visible towering above her. Even without the Force, his identity was obvious.  
“You’re awake,” Darth Imperius said. “I would have thought a proper Jedi would have the skill to counteract a simple sedative.  
Fauna knew the Force could be used to cleanse poisons and other impurities from the body, but her skills in the Force had been developed towards the discipline of the Jedi sentinel. Her abilities were focused on things such as the sharpening of her senses, physical augmentation, and telekinetic manipulation of her twin lightsabers. She lacked the talent for more complex abilities such as battle meditation, the healing arts, or foresight. Her incomplete training also meant that she hadn’t yet mastered other common force techniques beyond the simple Force barrier and mind trick.  
“I follow a … specialized discipline,” was all she said in response.  
“Yes. Such a limitation is an inevitable consequence of devoting oneself completely to the Jedi.”  
Fauna’s ire rose, but she felt too weak to get angry.  
“I imagine it’s the same if you completely devote to the Sith!” she retorted.  
“It would be, if I chose to confine myself in such a way, which I have not.”  
This caught Fauna by surprise. Imperius continued to speak.  
“Being a Sith puts me in a position to study all aspects of the Force that I chose. I don’t need to follow a dogma set before me. As a Sith, I am not afraid to feel. To connect. To follow my own path. Through victory, my chains are broken.”  
Fauna was in something akin to awe at how a Sith lord could sound so profound. She didn’t exactly agree with what he claimed, but she was intrigued by how he presented himself thus far.  
“But what is a life poisoned by the dark side?” Fauna questioned. Imperius uttered a low laugh in response.  
“Atalis must have truly taught you little that you are still naive enough to believe that this galaxy is strictly divided between light and dark. One cannot exist without the other, and there are so many shades in between. My strength is the kind that is produced when one doesn’t restrict oneself to a single perspective.”  
Again, Fauna was surprised. She was expected to be confronted by a fanatic devotee to the ways of the Sith. How a member of the Dark Council and come to have such a nature about him was fascinating to say the least. Imperius was making her think in ways she hadn’t before, but she still tread carefully.  
“You say one cannot exist without the other. You are aware that if the Sith win this war, the galaxy will be completely saturated with darkness.”  
“The same can be said if the Jedi bathe it in the light,” the Darth shot back. He began to pace above Fauna in the chamber above her isolation cell. “The Force is capable of self-regulating. The two sides will always counteract each other. This is why the struggle between light and dark is eternal.”  
“Then why bother with any of this?!?” Fauna asked, exasperated. Imperius continued to pace while he spoke.  
“One of the reasons I worked my way to such a prominent position in the Empire was that so I could work to repair its flaws. Change is a painful process. Of the two galactic bodies, the Empire is the one that possesses the ferocity needed to bring about this change and maintain order.” Imperius stopped pacing and stared down at her.  
“The Empire must evolve as well, and it has throughout this war, due in no small part to the efforts of individuals like myself. And it will continue to evolve with the help of individuals like you.” He extended his hand in a gesture of beckoning. “Come, sister. Join me. I will complete your training. We can change the Empire and the galaxy for the better. And even if we cannot, we can ensure that the legacy of our family survives to spread our teachings. It’s what our ancestor Kallig would have wanted.”  
Fauna had to admit that if any Sith Lord should be in power it should be one who could be reasoned with like Imperius. But he still had ill intent for the Republic and the Jedi Order. She couldn’t allow herself to be subsumed into this.  
“We do not share the same vision, brother. And I don’t care what the ancient Sith would have wanted. I won’t be your instrument.” Imperius finally lost some of his patience.  
“You dishonor your heritage, Fauna Kallig!” he snapped as he turned his back to her. When he spoke again, he was walking away, and some of the edge had left his voice. “If you don’t see the truth now, you soon will,” he said in an ominous tone. With that, he left her alone in the submerged isolation cell. 

 

 

Chapter 18

Advertisements, buildings, and speeders darted through Atalis’s vision. It was only through a force-augmented grip that he held onto the plated boot of what he now recognized as a Mandalorian. The armored figure, presumably a bounty hunter, had the code cylinder with the Silencer data on his belt, blaster in the right hand, and Jekivan’s corpse slug unnaturally over his left shoulder. The Mandalorian was using his jetpack to spin and weave in seemingly random directions in an attempt to through Atalis off. The Jedi Master knew that he would have to get them both on solid ground quickly without losing the code cylinder.  
He brought his sword arm up and slashed his activated lightsaber through the jetpack without hitting the fuselage. The result was another erratic spin that the two of them spiraling downward into a street below. Atalis lost his grip at the last second, falling several meters short of where the Mandalorian skidded to a halt. Jekivan’s limp form flipped like a ragdoll onto the metallic ground. The Jedi realized that they had landed on a block in the upper industrial sector. Massive power conduits lined the street on either side of them, with supply crates and other refuse strewn about.  
The code cylinder was still attached to the warrior’s belt. Atalis wasted not a second using the Force to pull the cylinder away. Before he succeeded in grasping it, however, a small tow cable launched from the wrist gauntlet of the Mandalorian. The cable caught the cylinder, which was now suspended in the air by the two separate forces tugging on it. Atalis was about to shift his focus on the gauntlet control when the bounty hunter fired a volley of blaster bolts from his pistol. Atalis dived to avoid the fire, but in doing so, lost his grip on the code cylinder. One of the bolts ripped into his shoulder. He brought up his lightsaber to deflect the next volley while simultaneously charging the hunter. Atalis redirected a single shot that knocked the Mandalorian’s pistol from his hand, though it didn’t faze him at all. 

 

This one’s persistent.  
Sylim had to admit that this particular Jedi had moved well beyond the comfort zone of that big temple of theirs. He’d have to pull out all the stops to take him down. Sylim fired two poison darts from his wrist gauntlet, both of which the Jedi swiped aside with his sword. Rather than retreat, Sylim met the Jedi’s charge. It pleased the Rattataki to see the shock on his opponent’s face when his lightsaber was blocked by Sylim’s beskar-plated forearm. Sylim took advantage immediately, bringing his right fist up into the Jedi’s gut. An electro dart fired point-blank range into the Jedi’s neck brought him stumbling to the ground. Before Sylim could finish him off, however, a kick from the Jedi’s leg swept Sylim’s legs out from under him. His armor thudded against the metallic surface of the street.  
The Jedi rolled away, picking up his lightsaber. Sylim guessed he was hesitating because he was deciding how best to bring someone in lightsaber-resistant armor down. The Mandalorian seized on the Jedi’s hesitation, firing his flamethrower in a wide arc in his adversary’s direction. The Jedi back flipped, dodging the searing flames, but also giving up ground to the point where his saber wouldn’t be effective. Instead of going after his fallen weapon, Sylim raise both arms, pointing them straight at the Jedi. A miniature rocket launched from his left wrist, and another poison dart launched from his right. The dart buried itself in the Jedi’s rib cage, but Sylim’s opponent managed to redirect the rocket with the use of the Force. Sylim dived to evade it the moment it began to change direction. The wayward projectile shot into one of the nearby reactors, igniting a small explosion augmented by escaping electricity.  
Sylim was growing impatient. This standoff had to end. He trusted that his poison would slow the Jedi enough for him to finish this. But as the Rattataki looked up, the Jedi remained standing, undeterred. He pulled the dart from his torso, doing so with a knowing look on his face.  
Well, so much for that idea, Sylim silently lamented.  
The Mandalorian retrieved his fallen blaster and fired another round of wild shots at the Jedi while he scrambled to think up a plan. Then he saw something. During the entire exchange on this block, Sylim’s disabled jetpack had been leaking fuel. He could use that to his advantage. The Jedi hurled his lightsaber in a deadly arc at Sylim, who responded by puffing out his chest and letting the saber deflect of his armor. He ran an arc in front of his enemy, draining the last of the jetpack’s fuel. After hopping behind the line of black-brown liquid, he unleashed his flamethrower. A wall of fire sprouted form the floor, blocking the Jedi’s advance. Sylim acted quickly, launching three successive missiles from the launcher on his left wrist. He didn’t wait to see if they worked. He dashed toward Jekivan’s corpse, slinging the evidence of his kill over his shoulder. Then he ran over and picked up the code cylinder. With that Sylim broke into a full run in the opposite direction. Imperius didn’t want any loose ends, but Sylim needed to level the playing field, and he couldn’t do it here. 

 

Atalis just barely dodged the next three rockets because of the warning he received from the Force. He couldn’t see a thing through the flames. The rockets slammed into the generator directly behind Atalis, obliterating it. The only reason the Jedi master wasn’t ripped apart by shrapnel right then and there was because he had Force-leapt over the wall of flames, though the blast’s concussive power robbed him of a graceful landing. He had just enough time to see the bounty hunter sprinting down the street. Atalis hurried to follow. He needed that code cylinder. The continued existence of the Republic fleet depended on it. 

 

 

Chapter 19

Fauna lay flat on her back in her cell now. She knew it would be best to try and regain her physical strength through some form of exercise, but the sedative plus the shackles that restrained her wrists made that impossible. She felt sore all over and if she bent a leg too much in any direction, it threatened to cramp up. The only things that she could occupy her thoughts with were Imperius’s words. He obviously cared a great deal about family and his legacy in the Sith Order. It made sense that he would want to convert her. But she continued to be astounded by the fact that they were related, and even more by the fact that the two of them only learned this because of a chance encounter on Tibrin. However, as she thought more on it, the more plausible it became. She left Corellia as a baby when she joined the Jedi Order. If her parents had a second child, she would know nothing of it. Darth Imperius only appeared to be in his late 20s, which also made sense, given that she just recently reached 32 years of age. Trying to compare his face to that of either of her parents would be useless since she never had any memory of them.  
Even if Imperius’s claims were true, she still couldn’t fathom how the son of Corellian civilians came to be a member of the Sith Empire’s Dark Council. Even more outlandish was the idea that those Corellian citizens – her parents – were descended from an ancient Sith lord.  
And Imperius said he wanted her to join him because he wanted the Empire to evolve. It sounded preposterous to Fauna at first, but strangely enough, she slowly began to understand why Imperius was so adamant to have her join him. And he was not at all what she expected a member of the Dark Council to be like. Instead of cold and ruthless, he appeared to be pragmatic and in some aspects even wise. She knew these were dangerous thoughts, but they were all she had at the moment. Until she got out of here, all she could do was try to attain a better understanding of her adversary.  
Fauna’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening above. She glanced upward through the force field to see the blonde-haired female that had aided in her capture. She was attired in the dress uniform of an Imperial Intelligence agent. The sedative had worn off to the point were Fauna could muster some energy.  
“What do you want?” the Jedi asked as sharp as she could manage.  
“I’m just here to deliver your next dosage,” the agent replied. Her speech was cold, the tone of voice any trained officer would use to address a prisoner. She plunged a cylindrical container into a socket on the wall. A few seconds later, an invisible gas hissed into Fauna’s chamber through a hole on the wall. This was how they were administering her sedative now. The first dose had been via injection. Fortunately, she kept herself from passing out this time.  
Fauna noticed that the Imperial woman was staring at her through the shimmering field.  
“What?!” Fauna asked, irritated.  
“You’ve occupied his attention for a long time now,” the woman answered. “I thought I should have a look.”  
“Apparently we’re siblings,” Fauna said.  
“So I’ve heard,” replied the woman. An awkward silence followed.  
“And just what business is it of yours what occupies his attention?” Fauna asked.  
“It’s more my business than it will ever be yours.”  
The sharpness of the reply caught Fauna off guard. Such emotion would have only make sense if…  
“And what does that make you, his stress relief tool?” Fauna prodded, half-sarcastically.  
“I’m far more than that,” the agent uttered in a menacing monotone, impressively avoiding an outburst. Fauna was actually surprised. She supposed she could understand how certain Sith could have lovers, but the idea of any true Dark Lord sustaining a relationship was actually laughable to her.  
“I pity you that,” Fauna said out loud. “Living life as the worst possible kind of servant.”  
“I’m no servant,” the agent said, her voice rising.  
“Listen, you might have let him trick you into thinking he loves you, but he’s just been leading you on. Sith dominate, manipulate, and exploit. It’s their way.”  
“You don’t even know him.”

 

Jenaya was struggling to keep her emotions in check. She had delivered this dose of sedative to the prisoner so she could conduct her own analysis of Garick’s apparent sister. At least, that’s what she told herself. This woman had been troubling her lover for some reason or another for the last 3 months. He was determined to have her join their cause, but Jenaya was not as convinced of the necessity of the female Kallig as Garick was. She knew that any petty jealousies she might have felt were unfounded. Still, she was determined to decide for herself whether or not they really needed this Jedi.  
“You don’t even know him,” she said. She knew what was coming her way. She was about to be on the receiving end of yet another lecture about how her Sith partner was just using her for his own pleasure. It wasn’t the first time their connection had been doubted, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. But she knew their relationship was genuine. It was just difficult for outside observers to see, especially a Jedi.  
“Apparently you don’t know him either,” the Jedi woman continued. “Once you cease to be useful, he’ll cast you aside.” Jenaya clenched her fists and exhaled to keep from shouting at the Jedi. She would never convince her closed mind. Jedi were just like religious monks.  
“We’ll see, won’t we,” Jenaya said as calmly as she could manage. She didn’t give the prisoner another chance to respond. Jenaya pulled the gas container out of the socket and stormed off. She wasn’t sure what she’d hoped to accomplish, but she could honestly say that she would prefer it if this ‘Fauna Reese’ was taken out of the picture and not allowed to interfere with Imperial affairs any longer.

 

Chapter 20

 

Atalis hurried through another level of the industrial sector. The bounty hunter was cunning, but he was no Force user, and Atalis had no trouble following his enemy’s trail by tracking his presence. The Jedi Master soon found himself on a platform where a crew of Ugnaughts was offloading components that Atalis assumed were for maintenance of the local generators. He was several levels below the surface; the skyline was no longer visible, and neither was his target. Suddenly, a prickling feeling crawled up the back of his neck. Recognizing the warning for what it was, Atalis ducked into a forward roll and by doing so avoided a strike from a metallic boot that would have kicked his head forward and snapped his neck. Atalis recovered and turned around just in time to see the Mandalorian taking aim with his blaster pistol. Atalis activated and swung his lightsaber, choosing to attack rather than wait for the oncoming blaster bolt. His initiative paid off; the pistol was sliced in two before the hunter got a shot off. The loss of his weapon made the Mandalorian hesitate, but only for an instant. He charged forward, punching at Atalis with his beskar’gam gauntlets and armor. Atalis threw a flurry of lightsaber swings in an attempt to dissuade his opponent, even as he desperately scrambled to retreat. Atalis knew he couldn’t go head to head with the Mandalorian in his armor. He needed to find some way of bringing the hulking brute down. The bounty hunter continued to rush Atalis even as the Jedi Master tried to back off. Atalis Force-leapt over his opponent and landed almost a full meter behind him. Even as the Mandalorian turned around to continue his brawler’s charge, Atalis unleashed a Force-wave that sent the armored hunter skidding across the platform. The Jedi had successfully bought himself some time. Now he needed to make use of it.  
As the bounty hunter staggered to his feet, Atalis searched his armor for any weakness to exploit. An idea struck him when he saw the tube that connected the wrist-mounted flamethrower to the small mobile gas tank attached to the back of the armor. Using the Force, Atalis conducted a subtle manipulation that activated the bounty hunter’s flamethrower. The hunter flailed his arm in surprise as fire began to pour out. Atalis used the next second to hurl his lightsaber at his opponent. The blade arced through the air at a blinding speed and struck the gas tube. There was a loud pop and the fire began to pour not from the hunter’s wrist, but seemingly from all over his body. The fire leapt from the severed tube and began to engulf the Mandalorian.  
Atalis took advantage of the chaos and yanked the code cylinder of the Mandalorian’s belt with the Force. He regretted that his foe would face such a gruesome end, but it was necessary. After he tucked the code cylinder into a belt pouch, the Jedi Master noticed something. The Mandalorian wasn’t flailing or crying out in agony. He was just standing there, flames bouncing off the armor. He had the appearance of a demon emerging from and inferno.  
Of course! The armor’s flame retardant. 

 

Atalis had honestly run out of ideas. This man he fought would stop at nothing to achieve his goal. Of course, now that he had the code cylinder, there was no need to kill his enemy. Atalis was about to make a break for it, when his unflinching adversary suddenly swung his arm in a throwing motion. Atalis saw a small spherical object soar towards him: A thermal detonator. Atalis had no time to think. Rather, the Force acted through him. He shot his left arm out, palm open and impulsively launched the grenade back at the one who threw it. The grenade tapped the Mandalorian’s chest plate and exploded with a loud crack. There was a guttural yell as the armored man fell on his back.  
It took a moment for the Jedi master’s hearing to return after the close proximity grenade blast. When the smoke cleared, Atalis saw the hunter on his back. He was still moving, but only because he was trembling. Atalis approached cautiously, lightsaber still activated. Steam rose from the Mandalorian’s body, and the man was breathing heavily. However, the breaths always sounded cut short. Atalis knew that this must mean that there was shrapnel in the bounty hunter’s torso. This appeared to be all the more true after Atalis noticed blood seeping from the slits where the armor did not cover the body glove. He also noticed that the visor of the helmet had been broken through. Pieces of broken armor lay littered about the body.  
Atalis raised his blade in caution when the Mandalorian mustered enough strength to raise both arms and remove his helmet. There was a sharp hiss as the airtight helmet came off. The helmet dropped to the ground with the Mandalorian’s arms. He was still struggling to breathe. Atalis noticed that this Mandalorian was also a Rattataki, and blood slid down his silver-skinned face. He looked up at Atalis, his eyes betraying no emotion. Atalis stared right back. The Rattataki did not have long to live. The nearest medical center would be several floors up, and Atalis was not convinced that the bounty hunter could survive the journey. The bounty hunter must have known this.  
“Congratulations, Jedi,” he half mumbled. “You…beat me.” Atalis was not sure how to respond, so he stayed silent. “If you (cough)… If you possess any shred of honor, you won’t leave me here.” Atalis realized what the Mandalorian was about to ask of him. The explosion had not only shattered his body but his pride as well. “If I am to die, it should be at the climax of a battle. Please…don’t make me rot.” Atalis felt the least he could do was salvage the warrior’s bruised sense of honor. After all, he was only hired to do a job. He was not a product of the dark side.  
“Very well,” Atalis uttered calmly.  
“Make it swift,” was all the Mandalorian said. Atalis deactivated his lightsaber and used to Force to remove what was left of the bounty hunter’s chest plate. It was still too hot to touch, even with gloved hands. Atalis knelt down and placed the emitter of the lightsaber directly over the fallen warrior’s heart. The Rattataki shut his eyes and waited. Atalis spared him a long pause. The blue blade of the lightsaber shot through the Mandalorian’s chest. The man hardly reacted. One moment his face was clenched, and the next it wasn’t. Atalis switched off his weapon again and sat there for what felt like an hour next to the corpse. Now that the adrenaline rush was over, fatigue began to set in. The Ugnaughts had long since fled in terror. Atalis was about to get up when he heard someone shout at him from the direction he had come.

 

“Master Jedi!” called a man dressed in workers garments. He was running towards Atalis, followed by several other men dressed similarly. But while they wore workers garments, Atalis noticed that they all carried blasters. The first man reached Atalis and saluted.  
“Twenty-sixth Reconnaissance Division, Republic SIS.” It was then that Atalis remembered how the SIS director had said that the operation would be monitored.  
“Where the hell have you been?” Atalis asked.  
“Well, you did chase that bounty hunter several districts away from where the operation began,” the agent answered. Atalis recalled the jetpack flight. “Did you recover the information?” the agent wanted to know.  
“Right here.” Atalis pulled the code cylinder out of his belt pocket.  
“Good. We found Jekivan’s body on the level above this one. I guess the bounty hunter wanted to keep it as a trophy.”  
“Or as proof of a job completed,” Atalis commented.  
“All the same,” the agent continued, “we’ll get him back to Coruscant and see to it that he gets a proper cremation.” Atalis glanced at the Mandalorian’s broken and bloody body.  
“Make sure you do the same for him,” Atalis said, motioning to the fallen bounty hunter. The agent’s face formed a question, but it never left his lips.  
“Yes sir. Of course.”

 

 

Fauna felt as if she had been lying in the pit for eternity. The toxin had deadened her senses and there were no exterior viewports in her chamber. It could have been night or day on any planet in any system. She knew her master was probably searching for her. She also knew that there was little chance of her being found. Unless Atalis had successfully tracked Imperius’s ship here, her location was as much of a mystery to him as it was to her. Despite her drugged state, Fauna grunted in frustration, all her fear, doubt, misgivings, and determination surging through her in a single instant.  
In that instant, something else happened. It took Fauna several seconds to register the fact that her binders had snapped loose from her wrists. In her shock, she sat up, her ability to do so rapidly surprising her even more. With sudden awe, Fauna realized that she could feel the sensations of the Force again. It did, however, feel different. It wasn’t the usual calming, infinite pool of light side energy. It felt warm, hot even. Unstable.  
Without truly thinking, Fauna looked up at the control panel near the door above her prison. She instinctively called upon the same rush of emotion that freed her from her binders. And it worked. Rather than simply turn the force field off, however, Fauna’s mental attack short-circuited the panel and made it spark. The field above her deactivated. Fauna felt overwhelmed; her body was still drugged and she felt as though she didn’t have control over what she was doing. But she had to get out. The internal heat expanded, and she miraculously pulled herself to her feet. She began to question whether or not the energy she felt was the Force; now it felt icy hot, like her blood was composed of a frigid magma. Calling once more on this strange energy, she leapt upward, throwing herself out of the pit and onto the floor above. Her landing was not graceful. As she crumpled onto the hard floor, the energy that had been fueling her thus far escaped her body like steam. She felt sore and feverish. She lay there for at least another five minutes before she rose clumsily to her feet.  
Her eyes darted about the room searching for a possible antidote. At last she saw the locker on the wall. Opening it, she saw two canisters. The green-labeled one was empty, so she assumed it was the one used for her most recent sedative dose. The only other option was the red one. There were no syringes in the locker, so Fauna simply unsealed the canister and released the gas into her face. It was sharply cold and smelled like a recently sterilized starship cabin. She collapsed again and had to wait for several more minutes until she started to feel slightly normal. Rising once more, she marveled at the fact that she had not triggered any alarms yet.  
Fauna stumbled out the door and into the dimly lit hall. On her left, she saw the hall end. On her right, it culminated in the head of the cellblock. Behind the computer terminal she could clearly see the lift. She started down the hall, but stopped in her tracks as soon as she saw the HK-51 assassin droid stationed behind the computer terminal. She expected to be shot right then and there. But she wasn’t. Cautiously, she continued down the hall and eventually discovered that even though the droid stood upright, its eyes were not glowing; it was in power-saver mode. Not wasting time contemplating her tremendous fortune, she crept behind the computer terminal. She paused again to scan the chamber for her confiscated lightsabers and found them in a storage unit on the far side of the room. With her weapons in hand, she slid almost silently into the lift. She had no idea which of the floors housed the hangar bay, so she just went to the top.  
As the lift rose and passed by viewports, she struggled to make sense of her surroundings. It soon became apparent that she was staring into dark, murky water. The lift doors parted and Fauna stepped into another corridor. She had absolutely no sense of direction and made several wrong turns before entering a much larger corridor in which she could hear the sound of rolling waves. Following the noise, Fauna finally entered the main hangar. Looking outside, she could clearly see that she was on an ocean world and that she was making her escape in the dead of night. She then took in her more immediate surroundings.  
The hangar contained two ships. The first she recognized as Darth Imperius’s personal Fury-class Imperial interceptor. The second was an unmarked Imperial shuttle that she assumed was a backup escape craft. She figured that the shuttle would have fewer safeguards than the personal starship, so Fauna began walking groggily towards what she hoped would carry her to freedom. Even though the sedative was wearing off, Fauna was still incredibly exhausted, and it was only due to the fact that she heard a second set of footsteps that she was able to dive down and avoid the high-powered blaster bolt that ripped through the air. Fauna turned just in time to see the blonde Imperial standing behind her, aiming with her sniper rifle. Fauna activated her lightsabers, and while she was able to deflect the next round of shots, her moves were sluggish and uncoordinated. The Imperial agent fired again, this time with a dart. Fauna had just enough instinct to redirect it with the Force. The dart sped upward and dented the ceiling with a small thermal explosion. The Imperial tossed aside her rifle and pulled out two vibroknives.  
Before Fauna could decide whether or not to advance or retreat, the blonde woman hurled one of her knives at Fauna and then charged. Fauna just barely sidestepped the first knife and was taken aback by the speed at which the Imperial had come at her with the second. The Imperial was well trained and more than fast enough to dodge Fauna’s lazy swipes. Fauna on the other hand was struggling to avoid the Imperial’s virbroknife. Eventually, the agent kicked one of Fauna’s legs out form under her and she fell to the ground. The agent wasted not a second in lunging downward with the knife. Fauna jerked away, and while she succeeded in escaping a stab to the chest, the knife dug into her right bicep.  
Fauna shut her eyes and shouted in pain. In that moment, the mysterious heat filled her again, this time with greater intensity. Fauna lashed out with Force. She opened her eyes and saw the Imperial woman suspended in the air, her body slammed into the ceiling structure that had already been weakened by the previous explosion. Fauna released her hold, and the woman dropped like a rock onto the hangar floor. With her opponent incapacitated, Fauna forced herself to her feet. The knife was still lodged in her arm, and she knew better than to remove it before she could find something to stop the bleeding. She stalked towards her fallen foe, determined to finish her off. She didn’t even stop to think whether or not Atalis would approve.  
Fauna had her blades raised for the killing blow, but before she could strike, a white arc of light shot through the air and sliced the lightsaber she held in her right hand apart. Darth Imperius moved with the speed of a wraith, his silver-bladed lightsaber overwhelming her in a single flurry. She made clumsy attempts to parry, but she was outmatched and worn down by fatigue. As her defense broke down, she split into a full on run, frantically trying to reach the Imperial shuttle’s boarding ramp. Imperius’s blade caught her leg first, and it singed her left calf. She fell forward, the mysterious strength draining form her again as she struck the floor.  
Imperius stood directly above her. She didn’t bother to say anything. She merely waited for death. Imperius stared her down with a look of curiosity, merely holding his bald out in front of him. Fauna wished he would just end it already. A harsh noise drew both their attention. The was a loud metallic snap as portions of the hangar ceiling that had been damaged during the battle broke off and plummeted straight for the blonde Imperial agent. Fauna was shocked to see Imperius turn completely around and face his back to her as he raised his arm to intercept the falling ceiling with the Force.  
Despite the pain all over her body, Fauna wasted not a second in sprinting up the nearby loading ramp into the Imperial shuttle. One more adrenaline rush was enough to prime the engines and begin ascending out of the hangar. There was a loud crash and the shuttle buckled. Fauna could only reason that Imperius had flung one of the ceiling slabs at the hull. Miraculously, Fauna still managed to keep the ship on course and flew out through the hangar and into the night sky. 

 

The ceiling slab knocked the shuttle about and carved a nasty gash into the hull, but it was not sufficient to bring the ship down. Even the blaster fire from Andronikos’s pistols only added a little carbon scoring. He, Xalek, and Khem Val and entered the hangar just in time to see the stolen shuttle flee. Imperius merely stared at the ship as it ascended. Andronikos was already running for the other ship.  
“We’d better leave now if we want to catch her before she reaches hyperspace!” he yelled.  
“No,” Imperius said firmly. “I’ve done what needed to be done. We’ll encounter her again soon.” The Sith lord turned to Jenaya, who lay unconscious on the hangar floor where she had fallen. Imperius belted his lightsaber and proceeded to carry his lover to their infirmary. 

 

Jenaya returned from her kolto soak to the stateroom where Imperius was already waiting.  
“My back’s going to be sore for weeks,” she said irritably.  
“You’re lucky you weren’t paralyzed,” Imperius countered.  
“I suppose,” Jenaya said. “I’m still not sure how that Jedi got the better of me.” Imperius could detect the underlying venom in her voice. He walked over to stand directly in front of her.  
“Forgive me, Jenaya.” She gave him a questioning look. “I’ve been remiss these past few months. I let this hunt to find my sister become too much of a personal obsession.” He edged closer to her. “You have every right to be cross with me.” Jenaya’s expression was neutral. “But please be assured that I won’t let such matters compromise what is important to me.” So saying, he took her hand in his. She looked at the floor before raising her head to speak. When she did so, she was smiling.  
“You’re one to talk.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“About not letting emotions compromise things,” she answered. “Andronikos told me how you let the Jedi get away to save me. I didn’t think you were the type to put personal feelings ahead of a mission.” Garick could hear the playful sarcasm in her voice. He responded in kind.  
“You’ve clearly never met me.” He pulled her to him and planted a kiss on her lips. After a few seconds, she pulled away.  
“You shouldn’t make a habit of that,” she said, her voice slipping into a seductive purr. “It’s not good for…operational efficiency.” This time, she took the initiative and kissed him. When their faces parted, Garick whispered in her ear.  
“To hell with efficiency.” With that, he pulled off the light medical robe that was the only thing protecting Jenaya’s modesty. She was unfazed. She tugged at his belt and soon his own robe began to fall from his body. Jenaya did not hesitate to shove Garick onto their bed. Within seconds, she was on top of him. They kissed more, harder and more vigorously this time. Garick ran appreciative hands down Jenaya’s body. She ran her fingers through his hair. The rolled around on the bed, making love. There came a point where Jenaya leaned her head back, exposing her neck, completely trusting Garick with her vulnerability. Garick honored her trust with a series of gentle kisses across her neck. As they continued, the two deliberately slowed down, drawing out the exchange of pure emotion for as long as they could. Later, after they were finished, Garick lay spooning Jenaya with his arms around her, touching her chest. Just before they drifted off to sleep, he whispered.  
“I’ll never understand how the Jedi live without this.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3 standard months later
> 
> As Darth Imperius continues to struggle between his obligations to his family and the Empire, his Jedi rivals prepare to pull off a stunt that will dramatically alter the tide of the war...

Chapter 21

 

Ever since Darth Malgus’s short-lived revolution, the Empire had been revisiting its policies on alien life forms to accommodate for the resulting manpower shortage in the Imperial war machine. What’s more, under Supreme Chancellor Saresh, the Republic military was on the rise and its political powers were expanding. The Empire had realized the necessity of making new allies to hold the line against the Republic counter offensive. One such ally had been found on the planet Kalee.   
During Darth Malgus’s coup, prominent Kaleesh warlords (some employed by the Republic, others Malgus) had been defeated in single combat by Imperial champions. The Empire’s leaders had proven their might in a way that aligned with Kaleesh warrior traditions. The Imperial Diplomatic Corps capitalized upon these victories, and as a result of careful negation, the warrior clans of Kalee had pledged to support the Empire. The Republic, of course, was determined to minimize the effectiveness of the Empire’s new allies.

 

Darth Imperius stood looking over the holographic map of Kalee in the heart of the Imperial command center on the planet. He had been on Ilum during Malgus’s coup and had bested one of the chieftains, earning the allegiance of that particular tribe. He had also learned a great deal about the Kaleesh culture through his apprentice Xalek. It was part of the reason he had volunteered to lead the Imperial defense of this world. The other reason was that he was determined to prove to the galaxy that the Empire was capable of accepting aliens into its ranks, and in turn, show the other members of the Dark Council that such integration was key to victory.   
Above all else, Imperius found himself angered by they hypocrisy of the Republic. They preached ideals of equality and democracy, but when the people of Kalee had willingly chosen to join the Empire, they sent their Jedi-led army to “pacify” the tribes. Imperius was determined to ensure that the Republic suffered for it.   
Xalek, Imperial Colonel Racto, and the Kaleesh war chieftain named Lalnor soon joined Imperius in the war room. While it was true that Imperius had had prior dealings with the Kaleesh, Xalek’s presence had proven invaluable during the negotiation and battle strategizing. The Kaleesh warriors were more inclined to work with Imperial troops having seen one of their own excel in the hierarchy of the Sith order.   
“Master,” Xalek succinctly uttered by way of greeting.  
“We’re ready to begin, my lord,” said the colonel. The chieftain simply nodded. All four beings turned their attention to the holomap. It focused in on a continent in the western hemisphere of the planet. The Imperial outpost they stood in had been erected in a prominent Kaleesh village that itself was situated in a large valley surrounded by natural barriers that included large rock formations and even a few canyons. From what intelligence had been gathered, the Imperial task force had figured out that the bulk of Republic forces had congregated in the large jungle several kilometers south of their rocky haven. The Republic military presence on the world outnumbered that of the Empire three to one. What kept the Imperials from being forced off world was the Kaleesh themselves and their knowledge of the treacherous terrain. Guerilla attacks and carefully laid ambushes had forced the Republic to adopt a more meticulous strategy and had thus robbed them of the quick planetary subjugation they had been hoping for. The Empire did not have the resources to mount a full-scale liberation of Kalee, but it could help the Kaleesh tribes sustain a war of attrition that would bleed the Republic presence dry.   
“We believe that the Republic plans to eliminate this base in order to destabilize our troops on this world,” Colonel Racto began. “After that, they probably intent to hit the other leading Kaleesh villages across the continents as a means of subduing the population.”   
“We cannot be ‘subdued,’” Chieftain Lalnor insisted. “They will either exterminate us, or die trying.” Imperius knew that Lalnor was one of the village’s eldest warriors, but he spoke with the tenacity of a young, freshly trained soldier.   
“Of course,” the Colonel said awkwardly. Then he continued. “As you know, the shield over the village protects it from aerial assault, which means that the enemy will have to march through one of the canyons that leads into this valley.” The map zoomed in again, this time on the large canyon off the southeast side of the base. “This one is the largest, and the one the Republic will most likely use if they wish to bring their full force to bear.” Imperius studied the holomap.   
“It’s a logical place for an ambush,” he observed, “but I suspect that the Jedi know that as well.”   
“That’s the conundrum, my lord,” Racto said sheepishly. “We could deal a serious blow by ambushing the enemy in the canyon, but they’ll be expecting it.”   
“Then we’ll simply have to ambush them in a way that they are not expecting,” Imperius declared. After spending another moment gazing at the map, the Sith Lord said, “I have plan.” He turned back to Racto. “Do we have enough starfighters to deny the Republic air support?”  
“For a limited period of time, yes,” the Colonel responded.   
“Then let us begin preparations,” Imperius said in a hurried but steady voice. “The enemy could begin marching at any moment.” 

 

 

Chapter 22

 

Atalis marched alongside his troops. The footsteps mingled with the din of hovering tanks and the trudging of Republic walkers. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and dark gray clouds were visible on the horizon. Instead of traditional Jedi robes, Atalis was dressed in the same full body armor worn by all field officers. The only distinctions were the fact that Atalis did not wear a helmet and the lightsaber that hung from the utility belt. The armor was not only more practical on the battlefront, but it also made Atalis feel like part of the army. He wanted the non-force sensitive beings of the Republic to view the Jedi as guardians, not as higher beings that demanded some form of special treatment. He wanted the soldiers to view him as one of their own. He felt his place was on the front lines leading the troops. However, he wished that he didn’t have to do it here.  
Kalee had officially declared itself a member of the Sith Empire four standard weeks ago and the Republic had abruptly responded with an invasion. From a tactical perspective it made perfect sense, but morally it was a betrayal of the Republic’s ideals. While Atalis did admire the resolve and vigor of Chancellor Saresh, her bluntness and rapidly expanding emergency powers were starting to unsettle him.   
The original Admiral in charge of the pacification force had been killed during the first week of fighting and General Atalis had been brought in to salvage the situation. The Jedi Master had had nothing but a depressing time since he’d arrived. The Imperial forces were well placed despite their smaller numbers and the native Kaleesh had been steadily depleting the army’s resources with hit and run attacks and coordinated counter attacks. These were not the tactics of the haughty, proud, and belligerent Sith Empire Atalis was used to fighting.   
They realize their situation, and now they’re not taking any chances.  
“Are you alright sir?” Captain Zarigso asked, walking bedside Atalis. The captain had served as Atalis’s military attaché for over two years now. He could tell when Atalis was mentally preoccupied.   
“Yes, just worried about the battle,” Atalis answered.   
“The ambush?” Zarigso asked. Republic scouts had finally confirmed which of the Kaleesh villages was being used for the Imperial headquarters. Atalis had been required to relocate a large percentage of Republic forces to a nearby jungle to use as a staging area for their inevitable assault. He had chosen the location because it was relatively close to their enemy and also provided natural cover against air strikes and spy drones. However, he was certain that the troop movement had not gone unnoticed and that the element of surprise was lost. The base was also in a prime location; ordering troops to land in the valley itself would be suicide and their base shield prevented aerial bombardment, though Atalis would most likely not have used such a cowardly tactic anyway.   
“Yes captain, the possible ambush.” Atalis answered. Since a surprise attack was out of the question, there was only one way Atalis could hope to bring a decisive end to the conflict on Kalee. He had to march his forces straight through the only canyon leading to the valley that was large enough to accommodate Republic armored transports and charge the enemy base head on. Calling the move “risky” was an understatement. The Imperials would no doubt take advantage of the terrain to ambush his columns. To make up for this, he’d arranged for a Republic fighter squadron to be on standby to provide air support. Even so it could still be counted as a suicide mission. Part of him clung to the hope that his forces would catch the Imperials unawares and that they would charge into the valley before the enemy realized what was happening. He knew that to be extremely unlikely, however.   
“Remember the plan,” Atalis said to the soldiers in his immediate vicinity, “If we get hit, move quickly to smash through the other end. We need to get as many troops in that valley as possible. Once that is accomplished, we focus on getting that shield down. Then we hit that base with everything we’ve got.” The Republic troop columns approached the mouth of the canyon.   
“May the Force be with us all.” 

 

The rain began to fall. Slowly at first, then a steady downpour established itself. The first wave of Republic troops had passed into the canyon. It did not take long for their boots to become muddy and covered in grime. The tanks soon followed, proceeding in an orderly and powerful fashion down through the canyon.   
Imperius stood atop the cliff to the left of the Republic forces. He watched as the procession made its way closer and closer to the valley. As the front line approached the halfway point, Imperius pulled out his comlink.   
“Jam their transmissions.” He said into it. Right now, any Republic air forces that might be patrolling the area would find themselves on the wrong end of an onslaught from every starfighter squadron the Empire had brought to Kalee. Imperius knew it was a risk to use the entire force just for one operation, but he was determined not to let the army he saw before him receive any reinforcements.   
By now the majority of Republic soldiers had made it into the canyon, and the front of the line became parallel to where he was now standing. Imperius lowered himself into a meditative position. Xalek stood silently by his side.   
“Begin,” Imperius said into his comlink. He waited for confirmation, and then switched the device off. As he closed his eyes he heard the first rounds of blaster fire coming from the portable turrets that Imperial soldiers were using at the other end of the canyon. The Sith sorcerer slipped into a meditative trance and touched the minds of the enemy. 

 

Danger sense shot through Atalis a fraction of a second before the opening salvo shot fourth from the army’s destination. His enhanced reflexes allowed him to draw his lightsaber in time to prevent his death right then and their, however the soldiers on either side of him were not so lucky and collapsed as the bolts ripped through their bodies. The advance halted and the soldiers in front took up defensive positions; they used what little cover they could find in the canyon. The first pair of hover tanks in the procession stepped up, preparing to fire down the canyon at the attackers. The tanks did fire, but instead of forward, they fired at the cliff sides. Atalis’s confusion and alarm only expanded when he looked at the walls of the canyon himself. Hordes of Kaleesh appeared to pour down from the cliff sides. Some stayed up in defensive positions while others scaled the canyon walls to dive down on the Republic lines. Atalis moved behind the cover of the tanks to avoid another salvo from the turrets down the canyon and moved to protect his men form the Kaleesh. He observed that the Kaleesh appeared ravenous, even deranged. The tanks continued to fire at the cliffs as more Kaleesh appeared. Atalis lashed out at the two nearest Kaleesh, but his blade seemed to go right through them. As Atalis watched, their images began to flicker in and out of existence. With horror, he realized what was happening. He turned around and shouted to his troops.  
“Don’t shoot! Hold your fire!” It was a struggle to be heard over the continuing blaster fire and shouts of battle. Somewhere a grenade went off, taking down four soldiers. Atalis could tell that had been no illusion. He also noticed that several troopers were being cut down by blaster fire despite the fact that the Kaleesh he confronted were not real. He began to wonder if he really was going insane. He tried to hunt for any real Kaleesh among the illusions while also trying to get his men under control. He wasn’t having much success; battle hysteria had gripped them.   
“Focus fire forward! They’re not real! Push to the base!” 

 

The illusions had done their work. The Republic troops had been thrown into disarray, thinking that they were being attacked on all sides. There had been just enough real Kaleesh firing on the enemy and causing just enough death to make the illusions seem realistic. And most importantly, the tank gunners were focusing their fire on the canyon walls. Imperius held his trance for as long as he could until Xalek spoke with a slightly strained voice.   
“Ready, Master!”   
Imperius broke his trance, but before he let his concentration slip, he stood up and began to gather the Force just as Xalek had been doing during the attack. After several seconds of buildup, The Sith Lord gave the command.  
“Now!’  
Master and apprentice simultaneously released their gathered energy, which shot fourth in an immense wave of power. The structural integrity of the cliff had been weakened by the Republic’s barrage, and the telekinetic wave unleashed by the Sith brought chunks of the canyon wall down on the Republic’s forward units in an avalanche. 

 

The hordes of mad Kaleesh had suddenly vanished, when Atalis sensed and extraordinary surge of dark side power. He also heard several loud cracks. Looking up, he saw the cliff face begin to tumble onto his troops.   
“Sir! Look out!” Zarigso shouted as he pushed Atalis out of the way of an incoming boulder. Atalis was thrown to the ground and heard a loud thud as the boulder landed right next to him. Atalis got to his feet only to see Zarigso’s crushed body beneath the boulder. The Jedi master looked around and saw that the falling rocks had demolished other troopers and several of the tanks. He barely had time to mourn his fallen comrade. Hunting parties of Kaleesh – real Kaleesh – could be seen scaling the other cliff side on their way down to bring the fight to the columns. Although there were not as many as the last “attack,” Atalis saw how the Kaleesh presented themselves during the charge. They were angry and determined, but certainly not demented. These were not dark side illusions. Atalis was still scrambling to figure out how to rally his forces, when more blaster fire began pelting the line from the entrance to the valley. Squads of Imperial soldiers were beginning their own assault, firing rapidly as they ran down the length of the canyon to meet the Republic army head on. Atalis felt his heart sinking, but he didn’t give in to despair. It was clear that the offensive was lost; the damage done by the avalanche prevented any more forward progress. His only mission now was to save those under his command from this deathtrap. 

 

 

Chapter 23

 

Imperius sat flat on the edge of the cliff, supporting himself with his arms behind his back. His robe clung to his sweaty body. He took long, slow breaths through his mouth. The act of manipulating so many minds to see the tainted hordes of Kaleesh had drained him, and even though Xalek had helped him with the follow-up blast, it had depleted his reserves. Xalek himself stood silently at Imperius’s side, but the Dark Councilor noticed that his apprentice’s eyes had shifted to Chieftain Lalnor and the other Kaleesh warriors who were just now unleashing themselves on the Republic soldiers.   
“Go,” Imperius said. “Fight alongside your people.” Xalek’s reply was swift and betrayed none of the happiness that Imperius knew he felt.   
“Thank you, Master.” Xalek leapt of the cliff, using the Force to repel down to the fight below. Imperius remained seated on the cliff. He also had a desire to join the battle, but he disliked the idea of literally jumping into the thick of the fray at less than full power. Instead, he watched the conflict unfold before him as he waited for his strength to return. The Imperial platoons had run down the length of the canyon and were now upon their Republic counterparts. The Kaleesh played their role beautifully, taking lives at the very center of the action. The Republic walkers at the rear of the lines remained intact, but the debris form the avalanche made it impossible for them to advance forward and aid their allies. There were a few Jedi scattered about the bloodshed; Imperius could identify them by isolated flashes of blue and green. As far as he could sense, they were only padawans and maybe a knight or two. Continuing his probe of the field, he felt confident that there were no masters in the-  
Suddenly Imperius sensed a powerful light side presence. His eyes darted about the carnage until he found the source. A single blue lightsaber blade could be seen cutting down Kaleesh near the largest of the collapsed boulders. To the naked eye, it appeared that a Republic trooper had decided to pick up a lightsaber and suddenly became skilled with it. However, the armor did not fool Imperius. He sensed the man’s presence. It was Atalis. No doubt he was the one who had been put in charge of this attack. Imperius became gripped with a sense of urgency. Atalis’s army was being routed. This was the prefect opportunity to bring down the Jedi Master who had been a thorn in his side for far too long. Imperius hesitated, however. He would be taking a substantial risk by challenging Atalis now, after draining himself by projecting the illusions. He was tempted to just let Atalis flee and wallow in the shame of his failure. But the contrary temptation of finishing him now was too powerful.   
Imperius stood as he noticed that Atalis was running back down the canyon to the rear line of his forces. He probably planned to order a full scale retreat and salvage the forces he could. Imperius thought it best to wait until Atalis had cleared the worst of the debris field. That way he wouldn’t be boxed in and he wouldn’t be distracted by other conflicts around theirs. The Sith lord started to jog along the cliff as he watched Atalis’s dogged run, half of him hoping that the Jedi would be cut down as soon as possible and the other half wishing he would survive so that Imperius could kill him himself. When Atalis finally got beyond the results of the avalanche, Imperius jumped. 

 

Atalis had finally cleared the worst of the fighting. Bodies were starting to pile up and they began to choke the canyon as much as the fallen rocks. He made his way to the nearest Republic walker. The pilot opened the top hatch and looked down at him.   
“We have to retreat! Now!” Atalis called.   
“Sir! The imps don’t have the numbers to beat us back. We can push forward and-  
“Even if we somehow defeated them and all of the guerillas, we wouldn’t have enough men to take the enemy base. We’re falling back now!”   
“Yes sir,” the pilot said reluctantly. He closed the hatch and gave the order. Soon, the other Republic walkers and tanks that were still functioning turned around and began to make their way back to the canyon entrance. Atalis had warned as many individual soldiers as he could about the retreat during his run back here. Some had started to make their way around the boulders and over the bodies, but many more were still cut off and under heavy fire. Atalis was about to rush back to help them, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw a tall, dark-robed figure barring his way. Even through the chaos of battle, it took Atalis no time at all to recognize him.  
“Darth Imperius.”  
The Sith sorcerer’s identity was confirmed when Atalis heard the snap-hiss of an activating lightsaber and a silver blade shot fourth from the hilt clutched in his enemy’s right hand.   
“It’s getting annoying meeting like this, ‘Master’ Atalis,” Imperius said. Atalis raised his still-activated lightsaber.   
“Then what’s say we make this the last time?” Atalis offered.   
“That’s the plan,” Imperius said, executing the Makashi salute with his saber. Atalis began to strategize as the Sith lord stalked forward. He knew better than to take on his enemy’s force barrier directly. Instead, he uprooted a piece of the ground under Imperius’s feet, disturbing the terrain and causing the Sith to trip onto his knees. Atalis seized the opportunity and rushed forward. Imperius avoided the slash that would’ve taken his head and came at Atalis with a one-handed sideswipe. Atalis swatted it aside. Imperius made several more quick, precision strikes all of witch Atalis parried or redirected before counterattacking himself. He had immersed himself in Shien. The Sith inquisitor could not get through his guard.   
Atalis was soon struck by the fact that Imperius had not yet attempted to assault him with the Force, and he seemed to be moving slower than usual. Atalis wasn’t sure if his enemy was legitimately weakened or if it was some kind of deception, but he wasn’t about to let the opportunity pass him by. He continued to absorb the Sith’s attacks and force him to give ground, slowly pushing him against the canyon wall. One of Imperius’s attacks finally breached his defenses: a swipe that cut a sallow furrow in the torso of Atalis’s armor. It forced Atalis to break off his attack and gave Imperius time to retreat.

 

Imperius reevaluated his situation. He knew that killing Atalis without his typically overwhelming command of the Force would be challenging, but even he was surprised at how he had been forced utterly on the defensive. In retrospect, though, it wasn’t really surprising at all. Atalis was a Jedi Guardian, and a master at that. He had probably spent his entire life performing combat drills and learning the forms of lightsaber combat.   
Retreating Republic soldiers ran about them, keeping their distance with the knowledge that they would only get in the way. Imperius channeled his remaining reserves of energy into his physical self, amplifying his limbs and muscles. He would never defeat Atalis in a pure contest of physical strength. He needed to make sure that this fight did not turn into a war of attrition. He spent another moment gathering energy, then moved forward as a blinding blurr that cut at the Jedi Master with flurry after flurry. Atalis fell into Soresu, blocking and redirecting most of the attacks. Imperius’s execution with Makashi proved to be effective as Atalis began to fumble and several strikes found their mark. None of them cut deep enough to do any real damage, but his enemy’s armor was becoming pockmarked with saber burns. He was pushing Atalis back now, and he felt that he could take the liberty of expending less power to speed himself up; he couldn’t sustain the barrage much longer. The second he slowed, Atalis noticed. A booted foot lodged itself into Imperius’s gut, knocking him onto the ground. He felt his power leave him, and he spit a gob of bile onto the ground before looking upward. Atalis was bearing down on him with a heavy overhanded strike. Imperius was just barely able to scramble to his feet and block the blow, though it took every ounce of strength he had. The Jedi Master did not let up. He lifted his sword arm and pointed his blade away from Imperius. The arm flashed across the distance between Imperius and his nemesis. The hilt butt of Atalis’s lightsaber slammed directly into the Sith inquisitor’s face. His vision temporarily left him and it was only by pure instinct that he managed to sidestep Atalis’s next saber strike. The Jedi pressed his attack. Imperius barely had time to register the damage to his face before he was faced with the full might of Djem So. Imperius instinctively fell back on a basic defensive sequence that did nothing but delay the inevitable. Atalis was too well built, too skilled with the saber. He was heavily muscled and trained for this exact situation. Imperius could be described as slender, and by comparison scrawny.   
A few seconds passed before one of Atalis’s powerful swings swatted Imperius’s blade from his hand. The silver beam fell away as the hilt fell to the ground. Imperius ducked just in time to avoid the final swing from Atalis’s blade that was meant to kill him. It became clear that Atalis did not intend to chase him when the Jedi guardian shoved an open palm forward and sent Imperius flying across the canyon. His face skidded in the dirt as he landed and the air was knocked from his lungs. He hadn’t felt this helpless since Lord Paladius had attempted to sever his connection to the Force on his first mission to Nar Shadda.   
He glanced up in time to see Atalis charging toward him, now flanked by a Republic soldier on each side. As Imperius got to his knees, Atalis jumped up in the air, lightsaber blade pointed downward, ready to impale his greatest rival in the Sith order. Seconds from death, Imperius tried to call on his hatred for the Jedi and the Republic, but to no avail. Those feelings were dry wells now. Then he thought of Jenaya. Of the torment she would face if he died and left her alone. Alone with…his child.   
A storm of blue-violet lightning materialized from the air around Imperius as he raised his head and let loose a harsh scream. His scream was partially drowned out by the intensity of the storm. There was a blinding flash of flight as the bolts engulfed Atalis, scorching him and the soldiers in close proximity to him. The soldiers were electrocuted instantly and Atalis was sent flying backward wailing in agony. Imperius had just enough time to see his rival go down before his own vision become hazy and eventually nothing but darkness. 

 

Fire. Atalis’s world was fire and only fire. He couldn’t move. After the initial blast of pain, there were several seconds were he felt nothing at all. But it didn’t take long for the cascade of suffering to begin. His breathing came in ragged gasps. His entire body felt as if it was burning. He was also blind. The pain was so intense that he almost didn’t hear the voices of those who came to his aid.  
“Hurry! Get him back to base.”  
“Ow! That armor’s hot!”   
“Fetch a gurney, on the double!”   
The pain eventually overwhelmed Atalis’s senses and he fell unconscious. 

 

Major Munoch watched with mounting disappointment as the strike force limped back to the Republic base. He noticed that there were significantly fewer tanks in the columns than had been there when the task force had left. He also noticed the amount of troopers that were being carried back, whether on hover gurneys or by there fellow soldiers.   
The Major stepped down form his observation post and into the rest of the portable command center. A Zabrak officer that he did not recognize approached him and saluted.   
“I’m here to deliver the status report, Major,” the officer said.   
“Where’s Captain Zargiso?”   
“Dead, sir.”  
“General Atalis?!”   
“Alive, but severely injured. He’ll need to be taken up to the frigate.”   
“What happened out there?!” the Major demanded. The officer struggled to speak through his heavy breathing.   
“We were ambushed in the canyon. I guess they jammed our comms as well ‘cause our support fighters never showed up.”  
“I know that much. Our space forces got hammered not long after you left. What else?”  
“Somehow the imps caused an avalanche that stopped any troop movement through the canyon. After they pinned us, we were set on by Kaleesh and imps alike. We never stood a chance.” The officer waited for the major’s reply.  
“Dammit. We’re never gonna get another shot at the target like that again,” Munoch ruminated. The Zabrak officer attempted to reassure him.   
“I’m sure will find a different option after the reinforcements get here, sir.”  
“They’re not coming,” the Major said, staring at the ground.   
“W-what?”  
“They were ambushed too. Another one of those blasted Silencer attacks. The whole battle group was wiped out.” A silence prevailed for another whole minute.   
“Tell other officers to start head counts and begin loading the materiel back onto the transports,” Major Munoch ordered.   
“Sir?”  
“You heard me. I’m ordering a full evacuation of Kalee.” 

 

 

Chapter 24

Consciousness gradually returned to Darth Imperius. His vision was still blurry, but when it finally normalized, he found himself staring up at Jenaya.   
“Are you alright? Can you sit up?” she asked, concerned. Imperius groaned slightly as he stretched and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He rubbed his temples for several seconds before sitting up straight.  
“Yeah. I think so,” he uttered groggily.   
“Good,” she replied curtly before her arm went into motion and she slapped him across his face. By the time he turned his head back to face her, she had a stern finger pointed in his face.  
“Don’t. Do. That,” she reprimanded him in low, threatening voice. He knew she must have been referring to the scare he had given her when they found his unconscious body.   
“I was reckless. I apologize. But rest assured,” he said, trying to soothe her.   
“I won’t let anyone take away what we’ve become.”  
“Sometimes that’s just not in your control,” she warned. There was nothing alternative he could suggest, so he said nothing. Jenaya had been pregnant for over three months now. A slight bump in her abdomen was just starting to become visible. They had agreed as a couple that she should avoid any combat missions while she was still carrying the baby. What’s more, he could not afford to let the other Dark Council members know of his unborn child; It would be something they would seek to exploit to attain power over him. And even if such a fact were allowed to be public knowledge, the Empire was in too fragile a state for him to simply take time off from the battlefield. As a result, he simply had to stay in his toes.  
“How much longer will we have to do this?” she asked almost imploringly.   
“Not too much longer,” he said, trying to sound reassuring. “We’ll find an appropriate, out-of-the way world where we can raise our child. Away from the prying eyes of the Republic or the Empire.” She rested her head on his shoulder.  
“That day can’t come fast enough.”  
Looking around, Imperius noticed that he was in their quarters aboard his Fury-class starship. He also became aware that they were in mid flight.   
“What’s the situation on Kalee?” he asked Jenaya. “Why have we left?” She helped him up and they started walking into the main cabin.   
“While you ambushed the Republic in that canyon, enemy reinforcements to the world were cut off by one of our Silencers. The commander must have decided that they’d lost too much there. The pubs abandoned Kalee.” Imperius smiled to himself. He had been worried it would have taken longer to repel the Republic’s hypocritical assault. Whoever had called the occupation off had been wise.   
“What about Atalis? Did he survive?” Confusion showed in Jenaya’s eyes.   
“I wasn’t aware he had been there.” Imperius had no way of being certain of Atalis’s survival or death, but he knew it paid to be thorough.   
“Contact Colonel Racto. Order him to sweep the canyon battlefield and check the bodies. Send him Atalis’s description from our intelligence file.” He was certain that the lightning storm he had conjured must have injured Atalis greatly, but it was still entirely possible that it had not been enough to kill the Jedi Master.   
“Right,” Jenaya answered. As they were talking, Imperius’s pirate companion Andronikus Revel entered from the cockpit.   
“Hey! Good to se ya up n’ around again,” he said by way of greeting. “Had us worried there for a while.”  
“Where are we headed?” Imperius inquired.  
“Dromund Kaas,” Andronikus replied. “Darth Marr’s called all 12 lords to council. Something big is in the works.” 

 

Dodge. Parry. Counterattack. Fauna Reese moved with purposeful speed as she fended off multiple strikes intended for her from the training blades. Spinning, jabbing, blocking, all while moving to make sure that the four combat exercise droids did not surround her. She had been fighting with them for several weeks now. When she’d started, the droids had fought her programmed to follow the training regiment of a newly initiated Jedi Knight. Now they challenged her with a ferocity that would test a Jedi Master’s reflexes. The trainers at the temple had discouraged her from pushing herself too far with the droids, and admittedly, that was exactly what she had done. When she began using the droids, her first battle simulations had left her bruised and battered. But she had come back every day to repeat the exercise again and again. As a result, she was now holding her own against droids that were designed to sharpen the skills of masters. The droids were of normal humanoid construction, and each of them was armed with a single training blade designed to simulate vibroblades and lightsabers.   
Fauna avoided another stab and parried a second that had been aimed at her head. She followed it up with an uppercut that sliced the second droid’s sword arm. Swerving to avoid a third attack, she struck down the disarmed droid and turned her attention to the remaining three. One of them held back while the other two charged at her from both sides. She ducked and rolled past their assault and lashed out directly at the droid that had assumed a defensive stance. The droid’s programming nearly perfectly simulated the blocks and redirections of Soresu, and Fauna was forced to break off her attack. She had been focusing her training on ending duels as quickly as possible, knowing full well that she could unleash devastating amounts of damage but not without expending valuable energy.   
Fauna leapt high in the air, executing and Ataru power attack with one blade that forced one of the droids to overextend its guard. Fauna seized the opening, impaling the droid with her newly constructed, short-bladed lightsaber shoto.   
Two down, two to go.  
One of the other two droids came at her with a Juyo-empowered flurry that caught her off guard. The training blade struck her shoulder, sending and electric shock down her arm that was meant to disable it. However, she did not drop her weapon. Instead, she brought both arms up to perform an X block that intercepted the next strike. When the droid withdrew, she followed through with a similar X strike; a pair of diagonal swings cut through the droid’s torso.   
The fourth and final droid and switched to form II, Makashi, its programing sensing that it was the only one left. Instead or charging, she waited for it to come to her, using basic form III techniques to keep it at bay. The moment she saw an opening, she let loose with a whirlwind of Ataru strikes and slashes. The droid was soon overwhelmed and collapsed to the ground. Throughout the entire exchange, none of the combatant’s had left the square space of the training platform in the Jedi enclave’s courtyard. Not one disabled droid had touched the Tythonian grass.   
Fauna was also perfecting her ability to enhance her physical capabilities with the Force for longer periods. Now that the fight was over, she began to breathe heavily as the supernatural energy died away.   
“You’ve improved dramatically,” a female voice called. Fauna looked over to see the Togruta Jedi Master Bella Kiwiks approach the training platform. Master Kiwiks no longer served on the battlefield due to injuries she had sustained earlier in the war. She now was a caretaker for Jedi padawans and a guide for people like Fauna. She had agreed to accelerate Fauna’s training, but only after Atalis had convinced her to do so. And that had only happened after Fauna persuaded Atalis to allow it. Her brief time with Darth Imperius had been most enlightening. She was determined to train as hard as possible before their next encounter so that next time she would not be utterly helpless against him.   
“Your technique is spot on,” Master Kiwiks continued, “but if that fight had been real, you wouldn’t have your right arm now.” She was right of course, but Fauna chose to reveal in that fact that she would be able to hold her own fencing with swordsmen of the Master tier. Kiwiks had agreed to oversee her advanced training, but she’d been seeking out advice from other trainers at the Tython temple. She also read archive logs on techniques and abilities used by notable Jedi Sentinels. Or at least what files she was allowed to read; the library had been one of the many chambers to be damaged during the Sith’s raid on the planet months ago.   
“More intense sword training than I was ever subjected too,” a second voice spoke. Fauna turned to see the Miraluka Jedi Knight Misate, who had just entered the courtyard. Fauna knew that Misate was undergoing her own special training here on Tython; Master Satele was tutoring her in the art of battle meditation. Master Oteg had discovered her telepathic talent during a recent naval battle in the Mid Rim. He had requested that she’d be instructed on how to expand it into battle meditation to aid the fleet.   
“Trust me,” Fauna said to Misate, “It’s more satisfying than meditating in the mountains all day.” Before Misate could offer a retort, Fauna turned back to Master Kiwiks.   
“We ready to move on to Force practice?”  
“I’m afraid it will have to be postponed for today,” Kiwiks said, her expression turning somber. Fauna immediately became worried.  
“Why? What’s wrong?”  
“A shuttle arrived a few minutes ago…dispatched from the remnants of the Republic forces that fled Kalee.” Fauna’s blood turned to ice when Kiwiks uttered the words ‘fled Kalee.’  
“Master Atalis has returned,” Kiwiks explained, “and he is not well.” 

 

 

Chapter 25

 

Fauna barely noticed the people she rushed past as she made her way to the Tython temple’s medical center. Her master had gone to lead the Republic campaign on Kalee while she remained her to train. She did not expect him to return for a long time; she’d heard the enemy was running a guerilla campaign. What had changed? How had the Empire mustered the strength to force the Republic off world?   
An emotion was building in her that felt akin to panic when she entered the intake area. The sheer sight of her master was demoralizing. Atalis was being carried in lying on a medical capsule with kolto patches covering several areas of his body. It was obvious that he had endured extensive burns. Any area of skin that wasn’t burned was pale.   
“What…” Fauna started to say, but found that she was unable to finish her sentence. The physician accompanying her master picked up on what she was asking.   
“He apparently suffered severe electrical burns,” the physician explained. “Whatever he was near that exploded, it had enough heat to cause his armor to graft itself onto his body. We had to conduct special surgery just to remove the armor.” Fauna stared at the medical capsule the entire time the physician spoke. “Periodic immersion in a kolto tank has kept him stable, but we haven’t been able to restore him to consciousness.”   
“You did the right thing, bringing him here,” Master Kiwiks told the physician. She had just entered the room entering from where Fauna had. “Our healers should be able to reverse the damage is body has sustained.” When the physician responded, he sounded skeptical, but offered hopeful words.  
“I pray that to be the case, Master Jedi.” Fauna still could not move her eyes away as the medics moved her master further into the med center and prepared him for another kolto treatment. She had never seen him this helpless, this damaged. She realized that this was the first time that she genuinely feared that he would not survive. Master Kiwiks noticed her trance-like state.   
“His condition is grave, but I know he wouldn’t want you to halt your training just because he was injured,” she said, putting a hand on Fauna’s shoulder. The young Jedi finally tore her gaze away form the sight of her ruined master and turned to Kiwiks.   
“Injured?” she asked, incredulous. “Injured?!? He’s broken! He’s been shattered! I can’t just sideline him!”  
“You’re not sidelining him,” Master Kiwiks cut in. “You’re putting your duty ahead of your fears for him, as he would want.” Fauna knew that Kiwiks was right, and that there was no argument to be had. However, Fauna began to feel an overwhelming sense of loneliness. She hadn’t told anyone about the dark heat that had consumed her during her escape from Manaan. Now the only person she felt safe enough to confide in had been rendered comatose. She was having a rush of too many emotions at once, and she feared that the subtle mental darkness might swallow her again. Without explanation, she turned and quickly left the med center. 

 

Once again, Darth Imperius found himself marching to the Dark Council chamber within the Citadel on Dromund Kaas. In the city itself, things seemed relatively calm, but when he actually entered the Sith Sanctum, it became obvious that an alert had been raised; military officers rushed about, Sith either made demands or reported to their masters. Imperius even noticed a few Mandalorians moving about the sanctum. There was urgency in the air, and it only built as he finally entered the Dark Council chamber. Eventually all the lords had appeared. Imperius was both impressed and worried by the fact that only two of the twelve lords had to attend the meeting via hologram. It was indeed rare for most or all the members to be in attendance, let alone in person. Darth Marr finally called the meeting to order.  
“My fellows,” he began, his deep voice bellowing from behind is mask, “as many of you are already aware, the Citadel has been placed on alert in response to information that surfaced approximately 14 standard hours ago.” Imperius detected the edge in Marr’s voice. Usually the armored Sith lord spoke with a slow, calculating voice, but it seemed to Imperius that he was rushing through his speech.   
“We have reason to believe that a Republic invasion of Imperial space is imminent.” The other lords didn’t hold their tongues and the chamber became filled with voices weighing in.   
“-They don’t have the resources…we’re spread to thin…we must recall all…it must be a feint…”  
“Silence!” Marr called, restoring order. “We have received reconnaissance information that has revealed the presence of Republic ships in close proximity to the planet Wayland. We believe that they are using the system as a staging area to build up a task force that will retake Taris and sweep into our home systems buy taking a short cut through Mandalorian space.” Imperius could see the star map in his head; it was a sound strategy, but if the Republic was really planning to invade Imperial space, he figured they would attempt to push through more than one breach point.   
“Mandalore has already been informed of these developments and the clans are preparing to respond to an attack. However, the Minister of War has requested that we keep news of this potential invasion under relative wraps until we are more certain of Republic action, and I concur with his reasoning.” This statement met no opposition, so Marr continued. “The purpose of this meeting is to decide the defensive actions that will be taken at this stage to repel an attack.” At this, Darth Vowran offered commentary.   
“Defense of the Empire is your sphere of influence, Marr” the pureblood Sith lord said, the condescension audible in his voice. “Please…enlighten us on what must be done.” Imperius knew Marr was probably aggravated by Vowran’s coy attitude, but the masked dark lord didn’t show it.   
“The Republic wouldn’t dare attempt an invasion like this if they didn’t have a definite plan to establish a foothold on one or more of our home worlds,” Marr declared. “That cannot be allowed. All of you will have to solidify your power bases and secure them against possible infiltrators as well as defend our facilities against any number of assaults.” It was at this point that Marr began addressing individual dark lords.   
“Mortis! Have your people sweep for potential traitors in the Kaas City spaceports and perimeter outpost staff. Acina! Make sure that all battle droids, artillery, and other materiel are upgraded and ready for deployment. Vowran, you must ensure that our resources are being allocated to defend the-“  
“Lord Marr,” Imperius interrupted him. He could feel Marr’s cold gaze and contempt at being interrupted through the mask, but Imperius felt that the interruption was necessary. He not only did he do it because he had something to say, but he also knew that the other council members didn’t like being given orders like they were common soldiers. He wanted to get is point across before the bickering started.   
“I agree with you that the Republic would never attempt something this bold without at least one trick up their sleeve. In fact, I hesitate to believe that this is an invasion at all, at least not in the traditional sense.”  
“What do mean?” Darth Ravage inquired sharply.   
“Assuming this is an invasion, it has to involve more than the forces building up between Wayland and Myrkr. They wouldn’t try to take over our territory by charging in from a single front. Either our reconnaissance forces simply haven’t detected the other build-ups of enemy ships, or the task force at Wayland is simply meant to lure a hasty reaction out of us, leaving the Empire vulnerable on another as yet unseen front.” The other council members began to murmur as they reflected on Imperius’s words.  
“Are you suggesting we do nothing, Darth Imperius?” Marr asked in a confrontational tone.   
“It is not apathy I suggest,” the Sith inquisitor responded, “rather, I volunteer for a solution that will allow us to simultaneously remove the enemy threat and leave us better defended within our borders against other possible attacks.”   
“You intend to use your Silencers,” Darth Rictus said, anticipating Imperius’s suggestion.   
“Yes,” he responded. “I volunteer to command one Silencer in a mission to destroy the enemy fleet at Wayland and stop the invasion before it begins. It’s the easiest option.” Technically Imperius did not own the capital ship-mounted Silencer super weapons, but he was the Sith who had made it possible for Imperial engineering to resume the project after it was first shut down by Darth Thanaton. In addition, the few high-ranking Imperial officers who had a Silencer constructed and mounted on his or her capital ship had only received such a blessing because they had sworn allegiance to Darth Imperius and had become part of his power base. He also hadn’t lost sight of the fact that leaving the Imperial capital world at a time like this would be a substantial risk, as any one of his Dark Council rivals could attempt to seize his resources during his absence. However, he and his allies knew this, and if any rivals did take the opportunity to attempt anything foolish, he would learn exactly of whom to be the most wary upon his return.   
“The most obvious path is rarely the best one,” Marr said, but he called the matter to a vote regardless. “All in favor of the swift Silencer strike say ‘aye.’” All the other lords expressed their assent, as Imperius knew they would. The opportunity to remove the Republic threat quickly while also potentially doing away with a rival dark lord proved too tempting for them. Imperius figured that his power base wasn’t in any real danger. Minor infractions could be dealt with and the council as a whole frowned upon brazen power plays. What truly concerned him was whether or not the Republic really was about to attempt an invasion, and if so, where were the rest of their forces. Darth Marr brought the meeting to a close.  
“Very well. Darth Imperius will remove the enemy presence at Wayland while we shore up our defenses here. The Empire will endure. Council adjourned.”

 

“Are you ready, Fauna?” Master Kiwiks asked.   
“Ready,” Fauna replied, her muscles tense and sweat already forming on her brow. Suddenly, a heavy rock levitated off of the ground and flew straight at her. She relied on her instincts to reach out with the Force and rapidly redirect the oncoming rock. The slab flew harmlessly in another direction. She saw a second rock sailing towards her. She didn’t have time to redirect this one. Instead, she quickly sidestepped to her left to avoid the massive stone. She only had a few more seconds before two more rocks were hurled at her, this time simultaneously. She shot both arms forward and caught both rock slabs with the Force. She held them in front of herself for almost a full second before throwing them back in the direction of Master Kiwiks. The rocks she hurled deflected Kiwiks’s next assault, which came in the form of several smaller – though sharper – rocks. Kiwiks paused to gather energy for one final attack. Soon a mass of stones floated around the Togruta Jedi master. Some were mere pebbles; others were the size of a full-grown nexu. Kiwiks launched the stones at Fauna, which shot fourth like an airborne avalanche across the clearing at the padawan.   
Fauna waited until the right moment, then crossed her arms in an X before thrusting them outward and straightening them parallel to the ground. This gesture was part of her unleashing of a Force wave that dispersed the oncoming cascade of rocks, which flew away from her in all directions. None of them landed anywhere near her. Master Kiwiks used the Force to shield herself from any rocks that came back in her direction.  
“Well done, Padawan Reese,” Kiwiks said with a satisfied but tired tone. Fauna herself was now drenched in sweat from her intense concentration. She had been the one to request such high-intensity training when she had first returned to Tython. As a Jedi Sentinel, her education had been less focused on combat and more on practical skills including investigation, survival training, and crafting. As a result, her combat and Force abilities had been very specialized. While this made her well suited to certain tasks, it left her vulnerable in situations like the one where her brother had captured her. The purpose of this training was to improve her combative viability by amplifying the techniques she already knew along with learning new ones that would strengthen her connection to the Force. She knew she couldn’t become a Jedi Master overnight, but she could make herself stronger as an individual as well as give her a much better fighting chance the next time she faced Darth Imperius.   
“I think that’s enough for today,” Master Kiwiks almost sighed. Fauna showed her agreement with a tired nod. Just then, Misate showed up at the entrance to the clearing.   
“Forgive the interruption,” she said politely.   
“Not interrupting,” Fauna explained, “we just finished.”   
“Good,” Misate responded, her voice growing more serious. “We just received an encrypted message from Republic High Command.” Misate spoke staring directly at Fauna. “You’re being summoned to Coruscant.” 

 

 

Chapter 26

 

Fauna had been to Coruscant several times and had certainly been inside the Senate tower before, but just now she and Grand Master Satele were being led by Senate guards to a lift on the tower’s far side that she had never noticed during any of her previous visits. The lift descended several levels before the doors parted in a short, dimly lit hallway with a closed blast door at the end. Fauna and Satele exited the lift but the Senate guards did not follow them.  
“This is where we leave you, Master Jedi,” the first guard said.   
“Thank you for your time,” Satele answered politely. He nodded at her and the lift car doors closed without another word. Fauna turned to the blast door. The message to Tython hadn’t explained why they were needed and she had been only more mystified by the fact that the transmission had been encrypted. All Fauna could tell was that it obviously involved something very important and that she needed to exercise the utmost discretion.   
They walked toward the blast door, but heard no audible sounds coming from the other side. The relative silence was shattered after Satele clicked the access panel and the door opened to reveal a room bustling with activity. It didn’t take Fauna long to realize that the chamber was sound proof and it took only a few more seconds for her to realize that she was staring into a war room. Large holographic projectors were installed at central locations and the walls showed maps detailing critical battlefronts across the galaxy.   
“Master Shan, Padawan Reese,” someone called. Fauna looked about to see who had addressed them and saw SIS Director Marcus Traint walking in their direction.   
“Thank you both for joining us on such short notice.”  
“All due respect, Director,” Fauna replied, “I still don’t know why I’m here.” Master Shan answered for Marcus.   
“You’re here, Padawan Reese, because this meeting was originally intended for Master Atalis. Individuals in high places believe that you, as his accomplished padawan, are capable of performing a task that was originally intended for him.” Fauna didn’t know how to respond. Anxiety began to fill her skull. All three of them turned their heads when a deep, almost bellowing voice shouted,  
“Briefing begins now!” Fauna saw the speaker and immediately felt star struck. The person calling the briefing to order was none other than Republic Military Supreme Commander Jace Malcolm. She barely had time to register his presence before she noticed Republic fleet Admiral Dabrin standing right next to him. She’d never been this close to so many important figures before.   
Fauna and Master Satele moved to join the other officers and military officials that gathered around the war room’s primary holoprojector. Jace Malcolm conducted the opening proceedings.  
“Time is of the essence, so let’s move this along. By now, all of us hear have heard of the Sith Empire’s Silencer project. Thanks to information recovered by Jedi Master Atalis, we have detailed schematics and the technological capabilities of the prototype.” As Jace spoke, a 3-d holographic image of an Imperial Harrower-class star destroyer with a large cannon mounted in the center of the front where the central hangar normally was. “It’s a centralized cannon that is capable of unleashing a focused laser that can penetrate the shields of any ship we have on record. The successful destruction of one ship triggers a second explosion, the blast radius of which wipes out any other ships that might be flying in formation with the first ship, making it the ideal fleet-killer. Obviously, it has already done immense damage to our naval forces.” At this point, Director Marcus took the helm of the briefing.  
“The schematics in our possession have allowed us to analyze the weapon for weaknesses and our engineering crops is working on ways to better protect our naval vessels. However, the Silencer attacks have only increased in frequency, and in different sectors across the galaxy. It has become apparent that there is more than one Silencer. Unfortunately, we lack hard numbers on their production or deployment.”   
“That’s one thing this mission will attempt to resolve,” Jace told the assemblage. The hologram changed to show an image of several Republic ships orbiting a planet and Marcus continued.   
“Ladies and gentlemen, I present Operation Hijack. SIS has carefully leaked information to the Empire about a buildup of a naval task force near the planet of Wayland. If our efforts are successful, the Imperials will take it as a sign of a full-on invasion of their space. Naturally, they’ll want to repel the threat as quickly as possible.” At this, Admiral Dabrin took the floor.   
“We expect that our task force will prove too tempting a target for the Empire, and that they will send one of their Silencer warships to destroy it. Given its capability, this warship will most likely only have a minimal escort, giving us the opportunity to send an assault party that will board the ship and dismantle it form the inside.”  
“Let us be clear,” Jace spoke up, “Our objective is not to destroy this Silencer, but to capture it. If our feint succeeds, we will have removed one of the Empire’s greatest assets form the battlefield and have one of the actual weapons to dissect and analyze. The ship’s databanks will hopefully shed light on just how many other Silencers are out there and how many are in production.”  
“What about the weapon itself?” a female officer asked, echoing Fauna’s own thoughts, “They won’t simply sit there without firing it at our fleet.” Admiral Dabrin provided the answer.   
“Our ships will all be spread out around the battlefield. The enemy will only be able to take them out one at a time.” Fauna was not reassured by the answer, but then, it was probably the best solution available. The hologram changed to illustrate the next leg of the briefing.  
“When the Silencer arrives, the crew will find themselves surrounded,” Dabrin continued. “Their confusion should buy enough time for our fighters to swarm the star destroyer and provide cover for the boarding transport. The initial boarding party will be comprised off an all-Jedi strike team.” Suddenly, Fauna realized why she had been summoned here. “The team’s first objective will be to disable the Silencer’s laser cannon without completely destroying it. We want it intact to study later. Their second objective will be to disable the enemy shields and auto turret defenses to allow more squads of our soldiers to make it onto the vessel. Finally, the Jedi will link up with the rest of our assault force and seize the bridge. By the end of the day, we should have one Silencer warship nullified and in our possession. We will also be able to download the information off their computers and hopefully ascertain just how much of the Imperial fleet is fitted with these weapons.”   
“The fleet will also be part of the assault, but they’ll only be using ion cannons to slow the warship down,” Jace added.  
Fauna was still attempting to wrap her mind around all the information she had just been given. She figured now that she had been brought here because she was meant to be on the Jedi strike team, but why her alone without the other members? Who was to lead it? Master Satele?   
“Admiral Dabrin, the Director, and myself had originally selected Jedi Master and frontline general Atalis for this assignment,” Jace began to explain. “However, he was gravely injured during the recently ended campaign on Kalee. So we turn to the next best option.” All eyes gazed at Fauna. She was speechless. Fortunately, Jace spoke for her.  
“Everyone, this is Fauna Reese, apprentice to Master Atalis. He has spoken highly of her and she has proved to be a capable Jedi in her own right, even escaping Imperial captivity without being rescued.” Fauna still didn’t know what to say, or even if she should speak at all. “Padawan Reese, we would like to assign you to be the leader of the Jedi strike team. It’s an incredible responsibility, so we wanted to be sure you knew what would be required of you. Will you accept this mission?” The entire assemblage watched her, awaiting her response. Master Satele turned to her but said nothing.  
Fauna couldn’t reply. She was having trouble wrapping her mind around that fact that these Republic officials “in high places” even had their eye on her. She felt flattered, confused, and anxious all at once. Then again, the fact that she was padawn learner to one of the Republic’s few Jedi master generals was probably what had brought her to their attention.   
At the same time, she was aware of the immense faith these people were putting in her, these people, whose very lives and occupations were centered on logic, efficiency, and productivity. They thought she could do it, but did she feel the same way? But she also knew that refusal wasn’t really an option. She couldn’t let down the Republic, the Jedi Order, or her master. There was only one way to go and that was forward.   
Fauna finally got past the knot in her throat. Looking Jace Malcolm straight in the eye she said,   
“Of course I do.”   
“Excellent,” he replied.  
“I will begin selecting other Jedi to serve on the strike team,” Satele said. Jace closed the meeting with a final declaration.  
“Operation Hijack is officially under weigh, everyone. May the Force be with us all.” 

 

 

Chapter 27

 

Darth Imperius sat cross-legged on the floor in his quarters aboard the Fury, his ancestor’s holocron activated before him.   
“The Jedi’s blood still poisons the family,” Kallig’s miniature apparition scolded him. “You had her in your grasp and allowed her to escape.”  
“She escaped on her own because of her increased connection to the Force,” Imperius explained. “I sensed it as she fled my stronghold, and it was not of the light side.”   
“You leave too much to chance, son of my sons,” the holographic gatekeeper said, shaking his head. “I realize how badly you must want your sister to embrace her heritage as you have, but it would be safer to extinguish her flame in the Force rather than continue to have it haunt our legacy.”   
“I am opening her eyes to the true nature of the Force,” Imperius continued, attempting to reassure the programmed personality of his ancestor. “There will be seeds of doubt in her mind now. The next time I encounter her, her mind will only be easier to liberate.”   
“And I wonder what exactly you define as the ‘true nature of the Force,’ flesh of my flesh,” Kallig probed. Imperius avoided the unspoken question.   
“I swear to you, I will rescue our blood. But you must trust me to see to it. I handled Zash, I handled Thanaton, and I can handle Fauna Kallig.” The hologram bowed its head slightly in resignation.   
“Very well. But do not let delusions cloud your judgment. Do whatever is necessary.” Imperius nodded in affirmation, and the gatekeeper’s figure dissolved back into the holocron.   
Despite his resolve, Imperius found himself disturbed by the avatar’s subtle accusations. He really did mean to free Fauna from the restrictive path of the Jedi, but if it came down to it, would he really be able to kill her? She was the only living family he had left.   
No.  
Imperius corrected himself. She was the last remnant of his old family. Jenaya was his family now, and their child would be the future of Kallig’s bloodline. Fauna Reese was nothing more than a secondary vessel, and he would excise her if necessary. Of course his resolution mattered little at the moment. Only the Force knew when this feud would finally be resolved. 

 

For the second time in the span of a week, Fauna found herself racing to the Jedi Temple’s medical center. She’d heard that the healers had been able to revive her master, and she considered it imperative to take time out of her training to speak to him. She found the room where they were housing Atalis and rushed to his side. He looked up at her as soon as she entered. His kolto patches had been removed, and the immense damage to the flesh of his torso and arms was now fully visible. The burns no longer looked life threatening, but they were still a gruesome spectacle to behold.   
“Master…” Fauna probed cautiously. Atalis smiled despite the burns on his face.   
“I’m alright,” he said, his voice tired. “Kolto therapy kept me alive, but only the Jedi healers could repair damage wrought by the dark side.” Fauna picked up on his last words.  
“Master, what happened to you?”   
“He was there,” was all Atalis said at first, “Darth Imperius.” Atalis’s eyes turned to look at the ceiling as he recounted the battle. “Our regiment was ambushed on our way to the Imperial command post. Looking back on it now, I realize we never stood a chance.”  
“We pulled out of Kalee, master” Fauna mourned.   
“Yeah, I know. The healers have been filling me in ever since I woke up. But Major Munoch made the right call. We would have only wasted lives by staying there.”   
“Tell that to Saresh and her senators,” Fauna mumbled, remembering the damning speeches during various holonet press conferences.   
Atalis turned his head to face Fauna again. “Listen to me, padawan,” he began, his voice grave. “Imperius led the ambush. He attacked me. He must not have been fighting at full strength, because I had him on the ropes. I almost brought him down. But at the last minute he summoned the dark side with every ounce of will he had.” Atalis groaned as he shifted his weight. “And here I am.”   
“He will answer for what he’s done, master” Fauna insisted, her rising emotion almost causing her voice to crack.   
“No, Fauna wait,” Atalis cut in, “There’s more to it than that. When he summoned his power, I felt his fear, but it wasn’t fear of death. It was something else. Fear of…loss…fear of hurting another.” Fauna was confused, but remained silent as her master continued. “Imperius feeds off emotion just like any other Sith, but my encounters with him have made it clear that his motivations aren’t entirely selfish. His emotions are fueled by someone or something other than himself…and that makes him very, very dangerous.”   
Fauna supposed she understood, but she was baffled by what a Sith lord could care about more than himself.   
“What could it be?” she asked.  
“I don’t know,” her master replied. “But he’s proven to be one of the most unusual people I’ve ever encountered.” Fauna’s thoughts flashed back to Imperius’s own words to her about not being restricted to only one side of the Force. Her thoughts were interrupted by Atalis’s next words.  
“I heard about your assignment on the mission to seize one of the Silencers. I’m very proud of you for accepting it.”  
“I’m not certain if I’m ready for such responsibility,” Fauna said, too filled with doubt to meet Atalis’s eyes.   
“And I’m certain that you are.” Atalis struggled to reach his right hand up to Fauna’s. She gripped his hand and once again made eye contact. “You’ve faced your fear by allowing Imperius to capture you. You demonstrated skill by escaping and working to better yourself afterwards. All that’s left is to face the mirror.”  
“The Trial of Spirit,” Fauna said, recalling the name of the third and final of the Jedi trials.   
“Yes,” Atalis confirmed. “There will come a time when you must face him again. I may have been knocked out, but the Force still spoke to me.” This did not surprise Fauna. She knew another confrontation with her brother would be inevitable, but she’d hoped that she would have more time to prepare.   
“You think he’ll be on board the Silencer.” It was more a statement than a question, but Atalis answered anyway.   
“I don’t know for sure, but I believe it’s likely. That doesn’t change anything.” He tightened his grip on her hand. “You are ready, my apprentice. You are a Jedi Knight in all but name.” Fauna began to tear up. She felt everything at once; Fear of her brother, anxiety about the mission, grateful for her master’s faith, determination to not let him down. Atalis sensed her turmoil. He uttered a few simple words of encouragement.  
“May the Force be with you.” 

 

 

Chapter 28

 

“Five minutes to Wayland, my lord,” Moff Pyron informed Darth Imperius from his position near the helm. Imperius himself stood at the center of the bridge watching the crew carry out their roles. The Doombringer was Moff Pyron’s flagship, and the vessel that had originally outfitted with the prototype Silencer. Now that same weapon was about to be used in the latest attack on the Republic fleet.   
Imperius still found himself disturbed by the task at hand. The idea that the Republic would launch an all-out invasion on Imperial space from a single staging area was preposterous. As the warship and her escort drew nearer to their destination, he felt certain that this was a trap, if not for him then for some other crucial Imperial interest elsewhere in the galaxy. The only way to ensure that the Empire survived this trap was to end the coming confrontation as quickly as possible.   
“Raise our shields as soon as we enter the system,” Imperius instructed, “then begin charging the Silencer immediately afterwards.”   
“Of course, my lord,” Pyron answered dutifully.   
Imperius stared out the large bridge viewports at the vast expanse of hyperspace. He realized that he was on edge.  
“Two minutes till reversion!” the helm officer called. Imperius’s mind ran through dozens of different scenarios and situations and simultaneously addressed options on how to deal with them. If he could lead his troops past the first womp rat trap, then it would be easier for them to avoid the rest of it.  
“Thirty seconds!” Imperius used the final moments to clear his mind and leave it open for whichever situation he was faced with.  
“Reverting to real space in five, four, three, two, one…mark!” The blue-white kaleidoscope of hyperspace was replaced with the dark void dotted with stars and the world of Wayland looming in the distance.  
“Report all sensor contacts. Now!” Imperius ordered.   
“I have Republic vessels on scope, lord Imperius,” one of the bridge crew reported. “Four, five, …six! Six Republic ships. But sir, they’re all spread out.”   
“What?!?  
“The six vessels are spread throughout the system, my lord. And they’re all converging on our position, from all directions!”  
“Full shields!” Pyron yelled before Imperius could. The dark lord could see them now, just narrowly through the viewport.   
“Republic ships, two Valor-class cruisers, 3 Hammerheads, and one corvette,” the sensor officer continued.   
“My lord,” Pyron interjected, “the enemy cruisers are all too far apart from each other for the Silencer to be effective.” Imperius now had confirmation on what this trap was for.   
“Continue charging the weapon anyway,” Imperius instructed. “Once it’s ready, target one of the Valor cruisers. We’ll have to take them out one at a time.”  
“Our shields won’t be able to last against a continued barrage from all six vessels,” Pyron warned, “and we’ll have to drop them to fire the weapon.”   
“I’m still pondering that part, Pyron!” Imperius confessed.   
“Sirs!” the sensor officer spoke up again. “Hostile fighter squadrons inbound. Dozens on the scanners!”   
“Dammit!” Imperius snapped. “Deploy our own fighters to engage. They’ll at least buy us sometime.” 

 

Fauna sat clustered in the transport pod with the rest of the Jedi strike team. Master Satele had selected three other young Jedi knights to for her to lead. She had used the trip to Wayland to become acquainted with them. Eliza Moon was a Jedi Sentinel who specialized in infiltration and sabotage. She was of average height and had her blonde hair fashion in a somewhat elaborate bun. On also on the team was a short, dark-haired woman named Alyson Starr. She was a Jedi Guardian who would serve as backup during their skirmish. Finally, there was the Miraluka Jedi consular Misate, who at this moment was using her newly acquired battle meditation ability to disorient the now sure-to be-panicked Imperial crew members. Her efforts would make it easier for their pod to breach the hull of the enemy ship during the chaos.   
“Prepare to launch,” an officer from the bridge said through their COM unit. Fauna had tried probing the enemy ship to see if her brother was aboard. She thought she sensed a presence, but she honestly couldn’t distinguish between it and anxiety over the battle.  
“Launch!” came the signal from the COM. The safety webbing kept Fauna and the others from being thrown about as the pod was shot fourth from the belly of the Republic command ship and out towards the Imperial vessel. The viewport provided a visual of Republic fighters swarming the cruiser as well as her escort of three picket ships and one destroyer. Imperial fighters were just starting to join the fray. The larger Republic fleet vessels were moving to surround the Silencer but as yet did not begin firing on the warship. The pod sped rapidly toward the Imperial hull. Within seconds, the viewport became filled with the sight of dark gray metal.  
“Brace for impact!” Fauna shouted. There was a hefty clang and considerable jostling as their boarding pod slammed into and subsequently tore through the hull. She made sure she still felt whole before she removed her safety webbing.  
“Everyone all right?” she asked.  
“I’ve had worse,” Misate chimed in.   
“Let’s get moving,” Fauna asserted. She opened the hatch, which revealed a hallway out the other end. Their pod was lodged in the wall. The four Jedi slide out into what was for the moment an abandoned hallway. It seemed that for now their intrusion had gone unnoticed. Eliza had studied both the layout of Harrower-class ships and the Silencer schematics in preparation for this mission and she knew which way to go.  
“Let’s get to the central chamber of the weapon first,” Eliza said. “We should be able to disable the firing mechanism from inside.” Fauna was only half listening. Now that she was aboard, the presence she had felt earlier became unmistakable; her brother was here. She became distracted from her thoughts when a voice came over the loud speaker.  
“All crew standby for firing sequence in three, two, one…” the words were followed by a steady rumbling that all four Jedi could feel in their feet as well as the sound of a distant energy discharge. Before any of them could react by way of words, their senses were assaulted with the sensation of hundreds of lives being snuffed out in an instant. They all stared at each other. Speech wasn’t necessary; they all knew what had happened.   
“We have to hurry,” Eliza insisted. The others moved to follow her as she started down the hall.  
“Wait!” Fauna called. She had a plan both pursue the mission and deal with her brother, and her strike team wasn’t going to like it. “Darth Imperius is here. Now. On this ship.”  
“The Dark Council member?” Alyson asked, her voice more curious than scared.  
“The same,” Fauna answered.   
“How do you know?” Eliza demanded.   
“I can feel him,” Fauna responded, not bothering to explain why. “Listen, because of him, we have to change the plan a bit. As soon as he senses me, he’ll be after us. If we split up, I can distract him while you guys disable the weapon.”  
“Haven’t you read any dossier for any commando mission ever?!” Eliza asked indignantly. “Splitting up is never a good idea.”   
“It’s necessary,” Fauna insisted. “I’ll head to the shield generator and shut it down. You three get to the Silencer chamber and stop them from destroying any more of our ships. If I’m right, I’ll keep Imperius off your backs. If I’m wrong, at least the mission objectives will be met sooner.” Eliza continued to stare at Fauna with disapproval. Fortunately, Misate spoke up.  
“The longer we argue, the more time the imps have to charge their weapon again.”  
“Fine,” Eliza said, the resignation audible in her voice. The team continued forward until their paths needed to diverge. As Fauna began down the opposite hallway she said,   
“May the Force be with you.” 

 

“Shields up again, quickly!” Imperius shouted as he stared out the viewport at the charred remains of one of the Valor cruisers. The Silencer had done its job but at a price.   
“My lord, our hull took a significant pounding from those fighters while our shields were down,” Moff Pyron said, echoing his own thought, “and those other Republic ships are getting too close. If we fire the Silencer again, we risk getting caught in the blast!” He supposed the smartest thing to do would be to order and evacuation of the ship right now. At least then a few of their ships and escape pods would be able to get away. But he wasn’t ready to abandon the Doombringer. Not yet anyway. There had to be another option.   
Then suddenly, Imperius sensed something. A vaguely familiar trace of light side energy, and imprinted among it … his sister! He turned to another officer on the bridge crew.  
“Scan the hull for any significant breaches. Also the hangars for any unauthorized ships!” Moff Pyron looked confused, but the officer responded.  
“Right away, my lord.” After spending over full minute standing over his console, the officer reported, “My lord! A hull breach near the port engineering section. It looks like a boarding pod.” Imperius then turned to Pyron.  
“There are intruders on this ship. Jedi.”  
“Why would they send boarders if their goal is to destroy us?” Pyron wondered aloud.”  
“A distraction?!” Imperius guessed. “Whatever it is, I will soon find out.” As the Sith sorcerer stalked off the bridge, he shouted orders to Pyron. “Have security send additional units to protect all critical systems. Divert power from all secondary weapons to feed the shields. I’ll stop the Jedi.” Just before he exited the bridge, Imperius heard Pyron call.  
“Your decisiveness is enviable, my lord. We will do as you command.” 

 

 

Chapter 29

 

Misate and the others managed to find their way to the main hangar deck without giving away their position. The massive cannon had replaced the hangars that opened up in the center of the ship and the firing mechanism was largely exposed from their current vantage point. The Jedi trio could see several Imperials on site. The ones operating the machinery donned HAZMAT armor, most likely to protect from the weapon’s radition output. An observation platform was visible where techs and a few officers stood over computer consoles that most likely monitored the weapon’s status.   
“That’s where we need to go,” Alyson said, pointing out the protected platform. “All we need to go is shut the weapon down and lock the system. We needn’t go anywhere near the radiation output.”   
“Agreed,” Misate responded. “Let’s move.” They scurried down the catwalk overlooking the deck, making their way discreetly towards the observation area. However before they reached the end, one of the Imperial technicians happened to look up from his station and saw them approaching. The officer ordered the two guards present to engage the interlopers. The soldiers took position at the entrance and fired their repeating blasters with deadly precision, but Eliza was faster. She whipped out her double-bladed yellow lightsaber in the blink of an eye and deflected the bolts back at the troopers who fell to the floor, dead. By now the trio had reached the entrance to the observation room and the other two Jedi drew their lightsabers. The gunners ran from the platform in fear, all expect the officer, who despite his panicked expression was typing something into the console with obvious vigor. As the Jedi surrounded him, he stupidly drew a vibroknife from his boot and was impaled by Alyson, who herself was avoiding getting stabbed.   
“Hurry,” Misate spoke to Eliza. “We have to disable this thing now.”   
“On it,” Eliza replied curtly. She began typing at the console, but soon made a sound of exasperation. “…No, no, no…dammit!”   
“What?!” Alyson asked, matching Eliza’s frustration.   
“That imp locked the controls,” she said motioning to the dead officer. “I can try to slice them, but it would take too long.”   
“Does that mean we’ll have to disable it manually?” Alyson asked, her apprehension obvious.   
“Apparently so.” Eliza answered. Mistate had to admit that she wasn’t too keen on getting so close to the radioactive components of the laser. The Jedi looked at each other, silently trying to determine how to go about this now difficult task. Then an idea struck Misate. During her advanced training on Tython she had come across mention of a Jedi technique called breath control. Force users mainly used it to defend against poisonous gasses, but if she could compartmentalize it, he might be able to use it to protect the whole of her body. She had no practice or any guarantee that her unusual use of it would actually protect her. But she couldn’t see a better option, and time was running out.  
“What’s the weakest component of that weapon?” Misate asked Eliza. The blonde sentinel gave her a confused look before answering. “Most likely the CN-12 processing chip that organizes the weapon’s power. But it’s built into the firing mechanism.”  
“Where?”  
“What are you going to do?”  
“Where?!?” Misate insisted. Eliza caved and pointed to the large disc that generated the first pulse of the weapon’s blast.   
“It’ll be at the base of that thing,” she said.  
“Alright,” Misate had made up her mind. “I’m going down there.”  
“What exactly is your plan?” Alyson inquired, incredulous.  
“Call it a hunch. Just keep local security off my back.” Misate began climbing down the service ladder from the observation room to the next level, then jumped down two levels before finally nearing the machinery. One last latter separated her from where she needed to go. She closed her eyes and focused. Focused on her breathing. Slowly, she called forth a delicate aura of energy to form around her body. She felt it caress her lungs and other vital organs. Her brow furrowed as she sharpened her focus in order to get the aura to expand outward and encompass her skin. Once she could convince herself that she was at least somewhat protected, she opened her eyes and descended the final service ladder. She was now steps away from the enormous mechanism that produced the laser, which fired down the bay and propelled by the rest of the machinery. She maneuvered carefully to get around to the back of the disc portion. The entire area hummed with palpable power. She soon heard shouts from not too far away and turned to see the armored imperial workers being distracted by blaster fire; Alyson had armed herself with one of the downed guards’ weapons. Misate knew she had to act now.  
She got into position and began to cut through metal and wires as she gutted the base of the focusing disc to reach the all-important chip. She knew she should have been proceeding more carefully; if she struck too deep, she risked triggering and explosion that could destroy the entire hangar bay, and her friends with it. But time was of the essence. Soon enough, Misate’s blade exposed a small, rectangular device built into the very center of the structure. Its elaborate core glowed and flickered with a teal hue. Misate prepared to stab her blade into the chip, ready to die for the Jedi Order. Fortunately, she didn’t have to. Her blade found its mark. The chip disintegrated, and after some smoke and sparks, the massive machine could be heard making sounds of power loss and energy drainage. She had done it.   
Moving quickly, but still keeping her concentration, she returned up the ladder and back up the route she had come. She didn’t allow her aura to drop until she was back on the observation platform.  
“Are you alright?” Alyson asked. Misate didn’t feel any negative effects from the radiation apart from being drenched in nervous sweat. She would need to get a proper examination when they got back to see if she had gotten out home free, but she chose not to dwell on that now.  
“I am for now,” she declared.   
“Come on,” Eliza pressed. “We have to get to the bridge and prepare for our troops arrival.”   
“We have to help Fauna first,” Misate insisted. “If a dark lord is really after her-“  
“We need to stick to the plan,” Eliza countered. “Fauna knows the plan. She’ll meet up with us as scheduled.”  
“And if she doesn’t?”  
“Then we’ll deal with that when the time comes.”

 

Fauna double-timed it to the chamber that housed the cruiser’s shield generator. She passed a variety of Imperial personnel along the way. Those that attacked her she cut down with blinding speed. Those that were unarmed simply swerved, yelled, and darted to avoid the seemingly crazy Jedi wielding two lightsabers. The survivors would not doubt report her location, but she soon realized how that would work to her advantage. The more attention that was focused on her, the more likely it became that Imperius would not find her compatriots.   
She found the shield room quickly enough. It was abandoned, and she did not give herself time to contemplate why. She set to work destroying power cables, conjecture tubes, and all other components that granted life to the pyramid-shaped generator in the center of the room. She hoped that she had caused enough of a racket to attract Imperius’s attention. With the shields down, the Republic would be able to complete their objective and she would finally end her family feud, one way or another…

 

Imperius strode through the decks of the warship, sniffing out his sister with the Force like a tuk’ata stalking an unsuspecting acolyte in the tombs on Korriban. He wasn’t sure why she was on the vessel, but it had become clear that the Republic had a more elaborate objective than the ship’s destruction. He narrowed down the list of possible destinations and figured out that she must be heading to disable the shield generator. That became all the more apparent when the ship began to buckle and the lights overhead began to flicker.  
“Moff Pyron, status report!” Imperius shouted into his comlink.   
“The shields have lost power! And the Republic ships have wasted no time opening up with ion cannons.” The corridor he was in went dark and remained so for several seconds until the red-tinted emergency lighting kicked in.   
“Can we retaliate with the weapon?!”  
“The Silencer is not responding, my lord,” Pyron explained with notable panic in his voice. “Reports are coming in of Jedi saboteurs on the cannon’s control deck. Our escort ships have all been destroyed. We’re sitting ducks up here!” Imperius was still pondering why the Republic was using ion cannons instead of just blasting away the vessel with turbolasers. Then it struck him.  
They must not mean to destroy the ship. It’s meant to be a prize.  
“Moff Pyron. We need to scuttle the ship.”  
“Say again, my lord?” Pyron asked, his voice incredulous.   
“You heard me. Initiate the self destruct sequence and give the order to abandon ship. The Republic wants to capture a Silencer for themselves. That cannot be allowed. Scuttle the damn ship.” A tense silence followed on the other end, but Pyron eventually saw reason.   
“As you command my lord.”  
Imperius knew that he was asking Pyron to destroy his own flagship, but it was either that or allow the Republic to capture it. The dark lord continued the pursuit of his sister amid the announcement to abandon ship and the wailing klaxon that signaled evacuation. He was almost to the shield room. He had to slow down to avoid slamming into crew members fleeing for the escape pods. He would end this quickly. His sister would break free of her bonds, or die resisting.   
He made his way down one more central corridor before reaching the primary entrance to the shield power station. The generator lacked any charge whatsoever, and the conduits sparked with the damage that had been done to them. The emergency lighting had failed to kick in here, so the chamber was pitch black save for the brief illumination of the sparking machinery. But Imperius had no doubt that his kin was here. Her presence was obvious even if the shadows concealed her exact location. Imperius waded into the darkness, treading cautiously but confidently as he focused on detecting her exact whereabouts. His concentration was broken for an instance when he sensed his sister’s hostility skyrocket. He activated his lightsaber and swung it over his head in a purely instinctual defensive parry that successfully blocked the win blue lightsabers that plummeted down on him from the rafters. Had he been a nanosecond slower, he would have been carved down the middle. Fauna bounced backwards after her assault failed and dropped into a defensive Ataru stance. The stood still, staring at one another as the ship rumbled and sirens blared outside the shield chamber. The silver glare and blue shine of their respective blades lit the area.   
“Sister,” Imperius said, breaking the silence.  
“Brother,” she responded bluntly. The Sith lord was about to make another attempt at reasoning with her, to help her see the how she could grasp her freedom. Fauna never gave him a chance; as soon she finished uttering the word, she lunged forward, and their showdown began. 

 

 

Chapter 30

 

The lights in the corridor went out, soon to be replaced by dull red emergency illumination. The ship bucked as the lights dimmed.   
“Fauna must have taken out the shields,” Eliza said excitedly. “The fleet just disabled the ship. Now all we have to do is take the bridge and secure decks for our boarding parties.” A voice came over the intercom to deliver a harsh announcement.  
“Attention all crew! Abandon ship! Abandon ship!”  
“Even better!” Alyson sounded ecstatic. “The imps are running scared.” Misate wanted to share in their enthusiasm, but hers was curbed by a sense that something was wrong.  
“Wait,” she said. “Listen.” The three Jedi concentrated to hear past the wailing alarm and chaotic sounds of evacuation. A few subtle rumbles were audible, and then became consistent.  
“That’s not turbolaser fire from the fleet,” Misate asserted.   
“What are you talking about?” Alyson asked.   
“Standard procedure for scuttling a wartime vessel. Trigger power surges in the support systems, then let them spread to the critical systems. The vessel then self-destructs.” Eliza and Alyson’s faces began to show understanding.   
“The Imperials can’t stand the idea of us taking their weapon, so they’re going to destroy it instead,” Alyson deduced.   
“We have to warn the fleet,” said Eliza. “We need to tell them to not send boarding transports. And if any of our ships are too close, then they’ll be caught in the blast!”   
“We can break com silence now,” Misate reminded them. “The imps know we’re here anyway. Eliza sent a quick comm message to the captain in command of the lead Republic vessel, explaining the situation and warning him to keep the ships of the task force at a safe distance. After she was done, Misate urged the party down the corridor.  
“We need to find Fauna and get ourselves out of here. Move!”

 

In their last battle, Fauna Reese had been shaken by the revelation of her sibling’s identity as well as doubt in her own abilities when she was confronted with a foe that she could not directly overpower. Now however, that uncertainty appeared to be gone. She moved with precision and an economy of movement that betrayed nothing but certainty in herself and what she was doing. Darth Imperius noted all of this from behind the fantastic flashes of blue and silver as their sabers crashed.   
After her initial onslaught, he had tried to end things quickly with a Makashi offensive, but the Jedi Sentinel transitioned seamlessly between defensive sequences and her overwhelming Ataru blitz. Realizing just how dramatically she had improved, the Sith Lord switched to his primary discipline; the moderate style of Niman and began to fight conservatively, even allowing his sister to drive him back several paces. Another factor giving his opponent and edge was the fact that she was no longer fighting with two regular swords, but rather with a lightsaber shoto in her offhand. It was a fighting style Imperius had only ever read about, and he was struggling to anticipate just what Fauna would do next. He considered himself an adequate swordsman, but he was no Sith marauder. As was the case with most of his encounters with skilled Jedi, this contest would be decided by his knowledge of the Force.   
He tried to focus on her blades, using subtle manipulations to make her loosen her grip on her weapons. But Fauna’s Force barrier proved to be stronger than before, and subtle manipulations amounted to nothing. Imperius retreated again, this time focusing his energy on the core of his body and then letting it explode outwards. A telekinetic wave further damaged the room as he unleashed a repulse that sent Fauna skidding across the floor. That is, her feet skid, but she remained standing.   
“Excellent form!” The Sith commented, both trying again to influence her as well as make use of the breathing room he had just earned himself. “You’ve obviously prepared a great deal for this day. We’ll unlock your true potential yet.” Fauna’s face remained stone cold; she was clearly determined not to let him in.  
“I’ll never become one of you,” she swore.  
“Have you listened to nothing that I’ve said?” Imperius countered. “The Sith Empire is a political entity. Political entities evolve. They’re a means to an end. I was only able to become a Sith after the Korriban overseers started allowing slaves to train as acolytes.” They were pacing around the chamber now, each one catching their breath and recovering their strength as they spoke. “Change is possible. I have seen it. The Republic has remained static for the last several thousand years because it has never fallen. The Sith Empire has evolved out of necessity after its various defeats. With people like you and I at the helm, the Empire can transform into the strongest civilization this galaxy has ever seen!” Fauna took a moment to respond, her expression not changing but it was clear that she was absorbing his words.   
“All those historical defeats came about as a result of some kind of Sith infighting.” Fauna shot back. “The Empire may be capable of evolving, but the dark side is not!” The whole chamber shuddered as another self-destructive detonation rocked the ship. Fauna took it as her cue to leap towards him and begin her assault anew. Imperius knew he had very little time left to convince her. As much as it pained him to admit, he doubted his ability to convert her. He knew that soon he would have no choice but to end her life unless he wanted them both to be vaporized on this doomed vessel.   
Imperius dodged her attack and countered with his own flurry. He needed to buy time to touch Fauna’s mind. If he could fool her with more of his illusions, it would give him an opening to strike her down. 

 

Fauna continued to press the attack on her brother. She wasn’t sure what had happened with the others but she knew the ship would not last much longer. She was determined to end this as soon as possible. However, as she had anticipated, her opponent was still immensely powerful. Her hopes of a quick end to their duel were slowly being dashed. It had been obvious during the fight that she now outclassed her brother as a lightsaber duelist, but his economical use of Niman allowed him to keep pace with her as well as grant him more opportunities to use the Force. She could feel him doing so even know, gathering his energies and waiting for the right moment to lash out. She had listened to his words, but refused to let anything he said influence her thinking. She was doomed if she let him get to her like he did back on Manaan.  
Suddenly Fauna’s vision became hazy and she felt a maw of fear begin to develop in the pit of her stomach. That fear snowballed into anxiety and she had no choice but to break off her attack and retreat. She hurriedly reevaluated her situation. The mysterious fear still gripped her body but her vision became normal again, expect it cleared to show her own master, Atalis, before her. She was paralyzed with a queasy mix of horror and confusion. Atalis said nothing but fell to the ground as his skin began to burn and his body convulsed. Fauna could do nothing but watch as her master’s flesh disintegrated before her eyes.  
“Master!” she screamed. She watched the corpse decay in seconds, Atalis’s figure devolving into a dust-covered skeleton. The fear manifested as nausea and threatened to overtake her. Throughout it all, she still felt the dark, looming presence of her brother.  
Brother…my brother!  
Realizing what was happening, Fauna turned to see a silver beam come streaking at her. She dodged it just in time to save her armed from being severed, but it was singed non-the less. The cut caused her to lose the grip on her shoto saber, which fell to the ground and was quickly sliced in half by Imperius’s own weapon. Fauna regained her feet to see that the vision of Atalis was gone, though the fear lingered as sheets of sweat around her body. She started down her brother, the dark heat she had felt months ago on Manaan threatening to consume her again. She was angry with him for making her witness such a thing, and before she processed what she was doing a piece of loose metal levitated from the floor and flung itself at the Sith. It was apparently too fast for him to dodge, because it hit him right in the rib cage and knocked him flat on his back. She still did not have complete control of herself when she leapt forward to impale him. Her blade met only the deck of the ship as Imperius rolled clear and then proceeded to retreat outside of the shield chamber into the corridor beyond. Instead of pursing him immediately, she used the pause in the combat to collect herself. She had acted purely on impulse and full of emotion; not the behavior of a true Jedi knight at all. With her single blade, she ignored the pain in her arm and slowly exited the chamber. By now even the emergency lighting had winked out during the loss of power. A small explosion at the end of the hallway caved in the ceiling and started a fire, the only illumination in the corridor now provided by their blades and the flames. The whole area lurched as the ship bucked and the hull audibly groaned, and Fauna prepared herself to accept the fact that she would have to die on this vessel if it meant taking Darth Imperius with her. Brother and sister stood silently, each debating with themselves on how to proceed. Suddenly, Fauna became aware of the snap-hiss sounds of several lightsabers activating down the corridor.  
“Fauna!” Eliza Moon shouted, her and the other two female Jedi rushing down the hall, sabers drawn and ready to join the fray.   
“Let’s finish him off and get the hell out of here!” Alyson added. Darth Imperius glanced quickly at the newcomers before turning back to Fauna. His expression didn’t change, but his eyes spoke volumes.   
“No wait! Stay back!” she tried to warn them, but before she could move, her body flung backwards as a result of Imperius’s open palm. She flew back into the shield room and after her head struck something hard, she struggled to maintain consciousness…

 

Darth Imperius was still contemplating the source of the hesitation he had felt before striking at a distracted Fauna as well as the strength she had summoned to hurl the machinery that had cracked at least one of his ribs, when he heard of woman’s voice shout from behind him, simultaneous with the activation of several lightsabers.  
“Fauna!” Imperius turned to see three female Jedi, one of whom he recognized; the red-haired Miraluka. The one with black hair opened her mouth next.  
“Let’s finish him off and get the hell out of here!” This was the last thing he needed. He was at less than full strength and would not last if they coordinated attacks well. He couldn’t give them a moment. Fauna must have sensed is immanent hostility.  
“No wait! Stay back!” He cut off her words with a Force blast that sent her flying back into the shield chamber. He quickly turned to face the other three Jedi. The corridor shook again with another explosion, this one much closer and above them. The shockwave weakened the structural integrity of the ceiling. He wasted not second seizing the opportunity, launching another telekinetic attack that dislodged a large chunk of the deck above.   
“Watch out!” the blond Jedi yelled. She and Misate jumped clear of the cave in, but the slab of shrapnel fell right on top of the black haired knight. A rapidly expanding pool of blood confirmed her death. The blond spent a full second looking on in horror before lunging at Imperius with her double-bladed yellow lightsaber. Her strikes were strong but predictable, yet for some reason Imperius found that he couldn’t catch an opportunity to switch to an aggressive form and end her interference. It was then he noticed that the Misate had not entered the battle. She stood watching them, her brow furrowed in what appeared to be intense concentration. Imperius soon realized that the Miraluka must have been using some amateur, concentrated version of battle mediation. That would explain the perfection of the blond Jedi’s form despite her textbook technique.   
The Sith Lord launched a bolt of lightning straight past his immediate opponent and at the Jedi consular. She saw it coming and successfully absorbed the attack, but it wasn’t meant to kill her. The distraction broke her concentration and caused the other’s next flurry to flounder. In the next instant, Imperius performed an uppercut with his weapon that tore right through the elongated hilt of the saberstaff. The blond had just enough time to look him in the eye before he decapitated her with another swipe.   
Finally, he turned to the Miraluka. She spent the same solemn second mourning her comrade before raising her blade defensively. Imperius spent a moment gathering his power before unleashing it in the form of a blue-violent current of lightning. Misate let her lightsaber fall to the floor and raised both hands, catching the lightning in mid-air. Imperius recognized that she was using the technique known as tutaminis to absorb his attack. He amped up his power, the current growing in size as the scorching lightning shot forward. Misate was skilled, but she was no match for him. The power overwhelmed her defenses, the current shooting up her arms and engulfing her entire body. The corridor was soon filled with the sound of her screams. 

Misate’s shrill expressions of pain were what finally pulled Fauna out of the void and snapped her back to full consciousness. With a strength of will she couldn’t explain, she dashed out of the dark shield chamber and into the corridor. Her entire world became what her eyes and ears detected. Eliza’s decapitated body lay at the Dark Lord’s feet and Alyson’s bleeding, shrapnel-ridden form was visible beneath a pile of wreckage. The young Miraluka Misate was still shrieking in agony as lightning ripped through her body. Before Fauna could move, the screaming stopped, the lightning dissipated, and Misate’s screaming corpse collapsed. Fauna watched the dead Jedi hit the floor. When it did, her brain stopped. She felt the dark heat again, but this time she didn’t try to push it back down. She embraced it, let it fill her to her very core. This time she new damn well what it was. The dark side of the Force, pure and powerful, and just now filling her with one thing: certainty. Certainty at what she needed to do, at what was about to happen.   
She raised her single lightsaber, uttering a frenzied cry, and dashed forward propelled by the blinding, deadly speed of the dark side. The Force filled her like it never had before. She was unstoppable. Imperius raised his weapon to parry the blow that seemed to be aimed at his head, but Fauna was faster. She altered course at the last second and went low, her blade cutting deep across Imperius’s right leg. As the Sith collapsed to his knees, a Force-imbued kick struck his face, breaking his nose. He fell on his back and his lightsaber fell from his grasp. Fauna was about to bring down the blade so it would run right through his twisted heart. But when the blade was centimeters away from his chest, her arms stopped. She was still gripped by the dark heat, but felt it receding. She still wasn’t able to think, only feel. Something clicked. After several seconds of hesitation, she stepped back, deactivating the lightsaber and letting it fall from her now shaking hands. She fell flat on her bottom, her body now soaked in terror sweat. She was breathing heavily, and felt tears welling up in her eyes.   
Imperius had yet to move, but after several seconds of relative silence, he began laughing softly. He sat up gingerly, his nose oozing blood. Fauna’s blade hadn’t cut deep enough to sever his leg, but it was obvious he would not be able to walk on it anytime soon.   
“You’ve done it,” he began in a muffled voice. Fauna looked him in the eyes but she still wasn’t ready to speak. “You’ve finally unlocked your potential. There are no more limits for you. You and I can command both the light and dark sides of the Force.” Fauna had trouble taking in his words. She was still devastated but what she had done. This was meant to be her trial of spirit. She had been made to face the mirror as Atalis warned. However, she did not meet his expectations. She wasn’t ready.   
“Now you can see that one need not be bound by the Jedi or Sith code,” Imperius continued. “Each one places limits on one’s power. To be truly powerful, one must embrace all aspects of the Force. Revan understood that.” Fauna was listening better now, if for no other reason than she needed something else to focus on.   
“Come with me. I can teach you this mastery. We can transform the Empire and teach the new generation to become the leaders that this galaxy so desperately needs.” Fauna felt the full weight of her failure as a Jedi. At this moment Imperius’s words sounded so reassuring, so correct, so … too good to be true. That was what prevented her from giving in. There were flaws in his argument that she just couldn’t ignore. It was obvious that Imperius truly believed in what he said, but he was fooling himself. She finally worked up the courage to speak.  
“It’s a wonder you’ve made it this far in the Empire,” she said. “How someone of your philosophies could become a Sith Lord, let alone a Dark Council member.”  
“The Empire prizes constant improvement and power over all else,” Imperius said defensibly. “That’s how I thrived.”  
“They literally enslaved you,” Fauna carried on, not responding to him directly. “They forced you to become one of them. You did so to survive.” Imperius did not interject. “You became addicted to the power, like a drug. You used it to crush enemies and take what you wanted. But you didn’t let the drug wholly consume you. That’s evident in the way you preach about balance in the Force. You refused to let go of your humanity.” The broken Sith still didn’t speak. He stared at her with a mix of denial and bewilderment. “You’re a remarkable man, ‘Darth’ Imperius. You kill people and enjoy the trappings of a conqueror, but you are no Sith. I don’t think you ever truly were.” Fauna finally stood up, with the explosions around them growing louder and more frequent, one even erupting from the nearby shield room.   
“You might be willing to embrace all that the Force has to offer, but there are too many other’s who won’t. Even if you somehow succeeding in changing the Empire, it wouldn’t last. You understand better than anyone how powerful the dark side is. One day, a genuinely Sith Empire will rise to erase any change you might have made. And should that one destroy the Republic, it will still be torn apart by infighting. That is the way of the Sith, now and always.” Fauna began to move down the corridor away from Imperius to find one last possible means of escaping the dying vessel. Imperius’s face seemed frozen, almost as if he was petrified.   
“Today you’ve shown my that I’m clearly not meant to be a Jedi, but you were never meant to be a dark lord.” With that Fauna, turned away from him and prepared to live buts said one last thing before starting her jog down the corridor.  
“Goodbye, brother.”

 

Imperius had been rendered speechless during his sister’s diatribe. He had wanted to fire back and explain how her cynicism was unfounded, but found himself unable to do so as she methodically picked apart the best years of his life along with the vision that had guided them with beskar-clad logic. The sight of her leaving finally allowed him to break his silence.  
“So after everything I’ve shown you, after tasting the power for yourself, you’re just going to walk away?!?” he yelled after her. Fauna didn’t respond, turning a corner and slipping out of sight. “Damn you!” he screamed to a being who likely couldn’t hear him. He tried desperately not to think about what she’d said, but her words had burned into his mind. The only thing that kept him from mentally devolving further was the rumbling that signaled the Doombringer’s final death throes. He rolled onto his stomach and began to crawl in the direction his sister had gone. Under normal circumstances, he could use the Force to heal his injuries. He wouldn’t have been able to completely repair his leg, but he could at least make it walk able. But the prolonged battle with his sister and the subsequent speedy executions of the three Jedi had left him utterly drained. He made it past the bodies of the Jedi before he began to cough and choke on the smoke from the various electrical fires that had sprung all around. His head lay down on the hard floor. He was abandoned, bloodied, and powerless. He wasn’t going to make it in time. The harsh inevitability of it tortured him. His thoughts drifted to Jenaya and the baby. In death, he would fail them. Leave them. His fist pounded several times impotently on his metal grave. Tears began to streak down his face and he was about to pray for the death that had long hounded him when he heard a familiar although muffled voice call out.  
“Dammit! There you are.” The voice belonged to Andronikus Revel, the pirate that served as Imperius’s pilot. “What the hell have you been doing?!” Andronikus barked as he lifted Imperius up and wound the Sith’s right arm over his own shoulders. The pirate wore a breath mask, which he hastily removed from his own face to place on his lord’s to protect him from the fumes. “This ship’s done. We’ve got to get out of here!” The pirate retrieved Imperius’s lightsaber from where it lay and helped Imperius limp on his good leg until they made it back to the hangar where their interceptor was still docked. It was the last vessel that hadn’t been destroyed or taken. The whole sequence was a blur to the broken lord. One moment his world was fire and the next he was laying on the gurney inside the medical suite of his starship.   
Andronikus went to the cockpit to initiate takeoff. By the way the ship shook, it was obvious that he was maneuvering to avoid some debris and Republic fighters, but before long, Imperius felt the whole room lurch as they jumped into the familiar void of hyperspace. The loyal droid HK-51 stood watch over Imperius’s body. Soon after the jump, Andronikus entered the suite to check on him.  
“I told you to get started treating his wounds!” he snapped at the assassin droid.  
“Declaration: I excel at terminating and disabling organics. Fixing them is another matter entirely,” the machine answered. Andronikus only responded with a disgruntled groan as he began to tend to Imperius’s leg. He talked as he worked.  
“I saw the Republic ships picking up most of the escape pods. Pyron’s probably either dead or captured.” Imperius was far more interested in the fate of his sister, but thinking about her caused her words to him to resurface. “We’ll head back to Dromund Kaas,” Andronikus went on, “Make sure everyone knows you’re alive before those other dark lords get any ideas.”  
“We’re not going back to Dromund Kaas,” Imperius responded.   
“What?” Andronikus asked, pacified. “Why?” Imperius didn’t answer him.  
“Send an encrypted message to the others. Tell them to meet us at the old hideaway on Manaan. I’ll explain everything there.” Andronikus still wasn’t satisfied, but he knew better than to question orders.   
“You got it,” he said, and left the room to revert to real space and alter their course. Imperius chose not to focus on what the thought he was about to do. Instead, he let the pain-reliving medicine numb him into a dull sleep. 

 

 

Epilogue

Five years later

Atalis could barley hear the various conversations from the other patrons at the cantina; he was too preoccupied with is racing mind. He stared out the long window that ran along the wall at the surrounding cityscape as night fell on Denon. Despite being relatively motionless, his heart was pounding. After over for years of searching, he might have finally found what he had been looking for.   
He had read the reports of the skirmish over Wayland as soon as they had become available. The Republic had failed in their mission to capture the weapon but at least one had been destroyed. And while the information on the rest of the Silencers had not been obtained from the ship’s databanks, republic scientists continued to analyze the schematics given to him by the late Commodore Jekivan and had slowly continue the process of technologically adapting Republic vessels to reduce the effectiveness of the fleet killers. It was well known that the majority of the Jedi strike team sent aboard the Doombringer had not survived. The exception was his apprentice Fauna, whose escape pod had been retrieved by the Republic fleet. She evidently checked in aboard the Republic cruiser Trident but then shortly afterwards was nowhere to be found. Somehow she had slipped off the vessel unnoticed. She had run away, and Atalis knew that their had to be a reason.  
The news of his missing padawan had tormented him during the rest of his recovery, but the prospect of being able to go out and discover what happened to her was also what kept him from giving into despair. After months of kolto soaks and physical therapy, he was finally hale enough to return to the front. But before he could be issued new orders, he took his starship and struck out on his own, determined to find his lost apprentice. He had scoured the mid rim for years, following any leads that mentioned stolen Republic starfighters or mysterious individuals matching Fauna’s description. Each pursuit had led him to a dead end. Now, at this cantina in the heart of Denon, he was about to find out if his latest attempt would meet to the same result.  
Checking his chronometer, Atalis pulled himself out of his wandering thoughts and turned his attention to the dive’s entrance. Locals had told him about a woman matching the description his apprentice frequenting this bar consistently around this time of night at this time of week. Atalis watched the entrance for several minutes, his anxiety spiking. It wasn’t long before a lightly built, hooded figure entered the cantina and headed for the bar. Atalis couldn’t get a good look at the face, but he had a subtle and sure method of getting her attention if it was indeed whom he sought. He maximized his presence in the Force, announcing himself so strongly than any Force-sensitive nearby would have to take notice. The figure looked up almost immediately and soon turned in his direction. The figure was definitely female, and as she walked slowly toward his table, her features became clear. Atalis struggled to contain the flood of emotion he felt upon recognizing his apprentice. She sat down directly across from him, her expression stoic.   
“Master,” she uttered quietly.  
“Fauna,” Atalis began his voice almost cracking. “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you come home? What happened above-?” Atalis stopped his inquisitive stammer when Fauna’s gaze dropped to the floor and her expression become somber. He took a moment to calm himself and begin again.   
“What happened on that ship?” Fauna continued to stare at her feet for several seconds before she replied.  
“He was there,” she said softly. “My brother. Darth Imperius. He was leading the attack.” This did not surprise Atalis, but he knew it was best to just let her explain herself. “Once I realized that he was on the ship, I told the others to complete the objective while I lured him away. It worked, and I fought my brother alone. I was able to hold him at an impasse, but then the others on the strike team arrived and… and…” Fauna’s own voice began to crack. She swallowed hard before continuing. “And he picked them apart. I warned them to stay back, but it was too late. He disabled me and set on them. They didn’t know him like do. They never stood a chance.” Atalis wanted to scream a rant of consoling words just to reassure that it wasn’t his apprentice’s fault, but he restrained himself, knowing that their must be something more to why she left.   
“When I saw them fall, I just… I … I lost control. I gave in to my rage, my frustration at being powerless to help them and I was suddenly filled with a power that gave me the means to defeat my brother.” Atalis finally broke his silence.  
“So you’re the one who killed him?”  
“Huh? No, I just wounded him. He couldn’t fight afterwards.” Atalis let some of his ponderings surface.  
“Well, shortly after that battle, I heard that the Sith were scrambling to try an fill his seat on the Dark Council. Apparently he never came back to reassert his position.”  
“He was wounded pretty badly. He probably never made it off the ship. But that’s not important right now,” Fauna insisted. “There’s more.” Atalis gave his attention once again. “The power that I used to overwhelm my brother…I’m certain it was the dark side. I told you that my emotions consumed me. It didn’t feel like I was entirely in my own body. All I felt was … heat.” Atalis’s heart went out to his padawan, and he believed her. But he was also confused.   
“That’s not like you. You’re so disciplined. You never had episodes like that when we were training-”  
“I didn’t tell you everything after I returned from Manaan,” Fauna said cutting him off. “While I was imprisoned, Imperius kept trying to recruit me to his side. But he didn’t do so in the way that you’d expect a Sith to do.”  
“He wasn’t a typical Sith,” Atalis replied. Even he had to admit that.  
“He kept telling me that there were two sides of the Force and that I was limiting myself by using just one. At first I believed that it was just a way of getting me to use the dark side, but he kept preaching about achieving balance in the Force and…the more I’ve reflected on it, the more I’ve realized that he was being genuine.” Atalis was skeptical, but he had just been the one to say Imperius was an unusual Sith. Also, he hadn’t been there. “Genuine or no, he got in my head. That same impulsive use of the Force is what allowed me to escape. I didn’t tell anyone because I thought that if I fed it I would only make it worse. I see now how foolish that was. It only made me more vulnerable when facing him. After I struck him in anger, I knew I couldn’t return to the Jedi Order. My brother had changed my perspective too much. I failed the Trial of Spirit, and new that I could never attempt such again.”   
Atalis absorbed all of this with a mixture of sadness, sympathy, and oddly, enough, pride in the wisdom his apprentice had achieved. He reached out onto the table and took Fauna’s hand in his.  
“You didn’t fail,” he asserted flatly.  
“But I did-,”  
“No, you didn’t!” he said, softly but more harshly. “Being a Jedi means so much more than adhering to the code. It means confronting who you are, recognizing your weaknesses, and learning from failure. Without failure, one can’t expect to grow.” Fauna stayed silent while her master spoke. “And as upset as I am that you did not come to me for aid, I couldn’t be more proud that you took responsibility for your actions and faced them alone.” Fauna had to avert her gaze as she wiped a single tear from her eye. Atalis was more reserved, but he felt exactly what she was feeling: regret at what had not been done, pride in their relationship as pupil and teacher, and desire to leave the past behind.   
“But the thing is,” the Jedi Master finished, “you don’t have to face life alone.” Fauna met her master’s gaze once more. “I understand if you don’t want to resume the path of the Jedi, but at very least return with me to Tython.” Atalis was all but pleading now. “Please. Come home.”   
Fauna stayed silent and held his gaze for what felt like eternity, but eventually responded to his request. She didn’t say anything. Just a nod. 

 

Jenaya lingered in the nursery for a few moments longer, ensuring that her young daughter fell asleep. When she was satisfied, she quietly exited the room. The nursery was but one chamber in the humble compound that had been carved out in this particular part of the forest. The former Imperial cipher agent strode down the hall and through one of the small doors that led out into the wilderness. She took a moment to breathe and absorb the peaceful sounds of the surrounding wilderness. The sun was descending rapidly and darkness would soon overtake the landscape. She set about to find Garick.   
Much had changed for them in the last five years. She had been petrified upon hearing about the failed attack over Wayland, but her fears were allayed when she received a personal communiqué from Andronikos telling her and the others to meet at the old headquarters on Manaan. What transpired next amazed Jenaya even to this day. Imperius had told the crew that he would not be returning to the Empire. The failed mission to Wayland provided the perfect cover to fake the Dark Lord’s death. Each and every one of his companions would be free to continue to follow him or go their own way. There had been varying reactions to the announcement. The Sith apprentice Xalek did not seem overly pleased with the decision, but he had sworn to guard his master’s legacy and refused to leave his side. Talos Drellik, ever the faithful vassal, returned to the Imperial Reclamation Service, promising to perpetuate the story of the Dark Councilor’s tragic demise. Andronikos had no desire to languish in a quiet corner of the galaxy, but he agreed to return to his roaming pirate ways and be Garick’s eyes and ears in the greater galaxy. The shadow assassin Khem Val had taken the sudden change the hardest. He couldn’t fathom why his master who had climbed the ladder of powerful so gracefully would give up all he had achieved for a comparatively boring life in the wilderness. Khem had asked to be dropped off on a world were war was being waged. Imperius had saw fight to grant his request. The Dashade’s whereabouts remained unknown.  
The pirate still made occasional visits to their new homeworld, bringing them supplies and information with the new starship that had been purchased with part of Imperius’s reserve of credits. He and Jenaya had completed the journey to the their new home via freighter. She and her lover had argued for some time about what type of environment was best for raising their new daughter, Visenya. They had settled on this remote world. It was on the Outer Rim but still outside the ever-receding borders of Imperial space. The climate was temperate and the only civilization was in the form of small towns that sprung up in the savannahs where the forests didn’t cover. The citizenry consisted mostly of framers had sport hunters; the planet was fertile and had an impressive variety of game to hunt. She and Garick had adopted the guise of hunting enthusiasts who were looking to get away from the chaos of the greater galaxy, which was to some degree true. The isolation of their abode was also ideal for when Visenya became old enough to begin her training under her father.   
On her way to find Garick, she noticed Xalek standing with his back toward the compound and looking out towards the sunset. He always looked like he was brooding. Jenaya knew too that HK-51 was about somewhere. The loyal droid served as the family’s bodyguard and was just now probably out on one of its self-assigned perimeter sweeps. Eventually, Jenaya found Garick in a small clearing standing over a small, red-tinted pyramid the Jenaya recognized as Kallig’s holocron. Imperius turned his head to face her and simply smiled by way of greeting. She smiled back.   
“I haven’t seen you with that thing in years,” she remarked.  
“That’s because I’ve haven’t been able to decide what to do with it,” he replied. Jenaya repeated what she had told him before.  
“If it bothers you so much, then you should get rid of it.” Garick sighed.   
“I’ve had enough time to see that my sister was right. The Empire was never going to change its core values. At best it would have adapted its exterior to survive.” Jenaya was glad that they’d been given an opportunity to escape from the typhoon that was Sith politics. She’d known that the father of her child never really had a plan for raising their daughter and somehow keeping her a secret while still attending the daily needs of the Dark Council. Fortunately, this “failure” over Wayland had been a blessing in disguise. Jenaya returned to the present as Garick continued.  
“…But I still feel like our daughter should understand where she comes from.” Jenaya turned Garick fully around and pulled him against her. She looked right up into his eyes as she continued to speak.   
“She comes from us. She might have some ancient Sith blood but that doesn’t have to define her. You’ll already given your life to your heritage and the Sith. You don’t owe them anything anymore.” She knew her words were striking on something sensitive and personal to Garick, but she was determined to persuade him. “You said you wanted Visenya’s education in the Force to be different. That holocron is a product of the Sith and the past.” She gripped him tighter. “We are a product of the present. And she will be a product of the future.” Garick tore his gaze from her and looked back down at the old device and was silent for what felt like forever.   
“That holocron embodies all that remains of my family…” These words hurt Jenaya, but before she could protest, Garick started into her eyes once again.   
“My old family.” Jenaya felt her heart soar. Garick then pulled away from her to unclip the lightsaber from his belt and ignite it. The neutral, silver-white blade still burned sure and true. The former Sith Lord raised the weapon over his head and brought it down with a brilliant movement that cleaved the holocron down the middle. Deactivating the lightsaber and letting it drop to the ground, he stepped over to Jenaya once more. He reached out slowly to touch her face and caress it with two fingers.   
“You’re my family now.” Jenaya’s arms made their way up to grasp Garick’s shoulders while his slipped around her waist. Night had completely fallen now, and the only source of light came from the self-illuminating insects that had begun to gather around them. They continued to stare at each other as Garick spoke.  
“I will train our daughter in the ways for the Force. Not the Sith, not the Jedi. Just the Force. And the galaxy will be hers to enlighten.” There eyes had adjusted to the low illumination and Jenaya found herself staring at the man that had captivated her all those years ago. The Sith who was somehow different than the others. The one who had valued his humanity. She had ben fortunate enough to reach that part of him, and the results were beautiful. He must have sensed her thoughts, because he lowered his face and engaged her in a full, deep kiss. His grip around her waist tightened as he drank her in. Jenaya let her own eyes fall closed and surrendered. Surrendered to his love, surrendered to their bliss, and surrendered to the quiet peace of the night.


End file.
